In collaboration with the German Academy for Language and Poetry

Long awaited - finally back: the Lyric Quartet, with fresh energy and in a new lineup. The moderation will be handled in the usual manner by Kristina Maidt-Zinke, now accompanied by Hubert Spiegel (born 1962) and Florian Kessler (born 1981). Hubert Spiegel has been working at the FAZ since 1988, was the head of the literary section from 2001-2008, and has been the cultural correspondent for Germany since; he is currently responsible for the Frankfurter Anthologie founded by Marcel Reich-Ranicki in 1974. In 2005, he was awarded the Alfred Kerr Prize. Florian Kessler studied Creative Writing and Cultural Journalism in Hildesheim, was a co-editor of Bella triste, and co-founded the literary festival prosanova in 2005. Since 2015, he has been an editor for contemporary German literature at Hanser Verlag and continues his work as a journalist (including for the SZ, Zeit, and taz). A guest in this new beginning round is Nora Bossong (born 1982). Her poetry collection Sommer vor den Mauern (Edition Lyrik Kabinett 2011) was awarded the Peter Huchel Prize in 2012. Her most recent publications include the novel 36.9 (2015) and the reportage collection Rotlicht (2017), both by Hanser.

"In a time when the word literature is often used in public as a synonym for novels, it's important to bring the diversity of voices in contemporary German poetry into public conversation." (Heinrich Detering on the idea of the Lyric Quartet)

Photo: Nora Bossong (c) Hassiepen 2015