Olga Martynova / Ozan Zakariya Keskinkiliç / Daniela Dröscher - 39th Freiburg Literature Talk: Three readings with discussion

Olga Martynova: Such nach dem Namen des Windes
Moderation: Beate Tröger

How can you endure the present when nothing but memories remain of a loved one? When your own homeland becomes inaccessible and your mother tongue is no longer usable?

After the death of her husband, Russian writer Olga Martynova found her linguistic home in German. In her poetry collection "Such nach dem Namen des Windes" (S. Fischer, 2024), she explores the possibilities of poetically visualizing the loss of a loved one. Unsentimental, precise and with subtle irony, the poet joins the tradition of those left behind with her lyrical conversations with the dead. According to the jury of the Peter Huchel Prize for Martynova's award this year, she shows "the possibilities of poetry to deal with pain and [...] to offer a foothold that is fleeting". Reminiscent and observant, artfully woven with compositional overlays and references, "Martynova's impressive poetry feels its way beyond the edge of the living." (Christian Metz, FAZ)

Ozan Zakariya Keskinkiliç: Hundesohn
Moderation: Thomas Geiger

This is a love story. It takes place in June, July and August in Adana, three thousand kilometers away from Berlin, where Zeko lives. Here he meets men in parks and cafés, on dating apps and in front of the mosque. But every time he does, his thoughts are drawn back to Hassan, the boy next door in Adana, whom Dede, his grandfather, always calls "son of a dog". Zeko only knows the noisy neighborhood and the dust in the alleys from his summer vacations. Then Dede dies of a heart attack. But Zeko doesn't want to forget: not his grandfather, who cut the worries out of old men's beards and sang in Arabic, not the religious rituals and the taste of Bamya. And above all, not Hassan.

"This is the most tender and clever novel in a long time about love, friendship and desire - you wish this storytelling would never end," writes Monika Hefter about the debut (Suhrkamp, 2025) by author and political scientist Ozan Zakariya Keskinkiliç. In a radical and poetic way, he tells of the euphoria and vulnerability, fear and happiness of being in love. And in doing so, he measures our torn present, across all borders of countries, languages and bodies.

Daniela Dröscher: Young woman with a cat
Moderation: Beate Tröger

Ela is about to graduate when she suffers a breakdown. Things could finally be looking up after her exhausting studies: The self-employment she longed for is within reach, and an unexpected scholarship promises time and money. But the past has left its mark: Self-doubt echoes from her youth in the shadow of an omnipresent mother. While Ela unconsciously wrestles with the question of whether she really deserves her place in the academic world, her body rebels: her neck, her heart, her skin - Ela is on fire and panics more and more.

Just like Daniela Dröscher's hugely successful novel "Lies About My Mother", Ela's late self-discovery and self-empowerment is masterfully constructed as autofiction. "Junge Frau mit Katze" (Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 2025) is a written rescue attempt - psychologically captivating and adorably funny. "To mention Daniela Dröscher in the same breath as Annie Ernaux is absolutely appropriate." (Wiebke Porombka, DLF)
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Photos from left to right.© Gaëlle Deleflie, Max Zerrahn, Heike Steinweg

Sponsors: Cultural Office of the City of Freiburg, Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts Baden-Württemberg, Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau, Guzzoni-Federer-Stiftung, Schweizer Kulturstiftung Pro Helvetia and Lyrikempfehlungen für Kinder, kindly supported by jos fritz bookshop and Park Hotel Post

Cooperation partner: Zwetajewa-Zentrum an der University campus Freiburg

Date: 8.11.2025, 3-6 p.m.
Location: Literaturhaus, Bertoldstraße 17
Admission: 11/7 euros

Literature talk
Literaturhaus