Berliner Literarische Aktion

Berliner Literarische Aktion, or Berlin Literary Action, is a nonprofit literary organization based in Berlin, Germany. Established in 2005 by a network of international literary activists, the association works across literary presentation, cultural mediation, translation, education and international exchange. Its activities are designed to make contemporary German and international literature more visible in public life and to create settings in which literature can meet theatre, music, visual art, performance and debate. The organization operates a volunteer-based office in Berlin and develops event formats rather than functioning primarily as a conventional publisher or commercial literary agency. Its work includes literary salons, festivals, readings, lectures, discussions, performances, symposia, exhibitions and charity events. Many programs are multilingual and are intended to support two-way cultural exchange: international literature is presented to German audiences, while German-language writing and Berlin-based authors are introduced in international contexts. Translation and collaborative publication are therefore central to its method. Among its recurring activities are literary salons in several Berlin districts, including Literatursalon Karlshorst, Der Berliner Weltliteratursalon, Wahlverwandtschaften im Maschinenhaus, Literatursalon am Kollwitzplatz and Literatursalon Mitte. Related programs have also been organized outside Germany, including in Italy and Indonesia. The association has worked with universities, cultural institutions, embassies, publishers and international cultural organizations, including the Humboldt University of Berlin, the Akademie der Künste, the Berlin Senate, the Goethe-Institut, the British Council, the German Academic Exchange Service, the German Society for International Cooperation, the European Commission and the OECD. A major part of the organization’s public-literature work is the online magazine Stadtsprachen. The freely accessible platform presents multilingual contemporary literature from Berlin, including authors writing in languages other than German and German translations of their work. The project is intended to reflect Berlin’s linguistic diversity and to provide an ongoing digital platform beyond individual readings or festivals. Berliner Literarische Aktion has also developed programs aimed at audiences that are often underserved by conventional literary institutions. Its prison-reading initiative, known as Literature behind bars, brings international authors into contact with detainees and has been connected with wider European interest in cultural education in prisons. The organization has participated in European research activity concerning arts and education in correctional settings. Youth work and other educational programs similarly seek to broaden the social reach of literature. The association’s international profile is especially visible in its multilingual festival and performance formats. Its International SLAM!Revue, presented in connection with the Berlin International Literature Festival from 2002 to 2010, combined poetry-slam practices with international literary presentation. The organization describes the format as an influential model that was subsequently adopted by other event producers. Its international projects have connected writers and artists from Europe, Asia and the Americas through explicitly noncommercial programs. The organization also develops publications documenting literary and intercultural projects. These include U(DYS)TOPIA, a trilingual project concerning myths, fairy tales and legends in contemporary Indonesian and German contexts; Jakarta Berlin, a German-English publication combining essays and photographs; Art and Culture in Prison, a multilingual publication on cultural work in correctional settings; and Nachtbus nach Mitte, an anthology of contemporary Berlin poetry. Through these activities, Berliner Literarische Aktion combines event production, publishing, translation, cultural education and international networking. Its overall positioning is that literature remains a socially active medium in a multimedia environment and should be deliberately brought into contact with diverse publics, languages and artistic disciplines.

Berliner Literarische Aktion was founded in Berlin in 2005 by a network of international literary activists drawn from writing, translation, literary scholarship and cultural coordination. Writer Martin Jankowski served as chairman. From its beginning, the association was conceived as a nonprofit platform for producing and disseminating literary presentations rather than simply as a fixed venue or publishing imprint. Its operating model combines public events, cultural mediation, international partnerships and project publications. The organization creates literary salons, festivals, readings, lectures, debates, performances, symposia and exhibitions, often using multilingual or cross-genre formats. Literature is presented alongside theatre, music and visual art, allowing the association to address audiences beyond the established literary scene. Its programs also support translation in both directions, linking German-language literature with international writing and helping Berlin audiences encounter contemporary work in multiple languages. The association has established a recurring presence in Berlin through salons including Literatursalon Karlshorst, Der Berliner Weltliteratursalon, Wahlverwandtschaften im Maschinenhaus, Literatursalon am Kollwitzplatz and Literatursalon Mitte. Similar programs and exchanges have extended to countries including Italy and Indonesia. The organization’s partners have included Berlin cultural and educational institutions as well as international bodies such as the Goethe-Institut, the British Council, the DAAD, the GIZ, the European Commission and the OECD. Universities, embassies, cultural institutes, publishers and individual authors have also participated in its programs. One of its most visible digital projects is Stadtsprachen, an openly accessible online literary magazine devoted to multilingual contemporary literature in Berlin. The platform presents international Berlin-based authors and publishes texts in numerous languages, together with German translations. It expands the organization’s work from temporary events into a continuing public archive and publication space. Berliner Literarische Aktion has consistently emphasized literary access and social outreach. Its educational work has included youth programs and readings in prisons. The Literature behind bars initiative was first developed for correctional institutions in Berlin and brought international authors into contact with detainees. The model attracted wider European attention, and the organization became involved in European research projects concerning cultural education in prisons. This work reflects the association’s broader view that literary culture should reach new audiences and that literature can have practical social effects when actively developed in public and educational settings. The organization has also produced international and cross-genre festivals. Its International SLAM!Revue, associated with the Berlin International Literature Festival between 2002 and 2010, offered a multilingual form of poetry-slam presentation. The format connected performance, translation and international literary exchange and was subsequently adopted in other contexts. Beyond Germany, the association has designed noncommercial literary projects involving partners and artists from Italy, Indonesia, Switzerland, France, Poland, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Chile and Russia. Its publication record documents the same combination of literature, cultural exchange and social practice. U(DYS)TOPIA examined myths, fairy tales and legends in contemporary Indonesian and German contexts in German, English and Indonesian. Jakarta Berlin combined German-English essays and photographs. Art and Culture in Prison addressed cultural work in correctional institutions in English, with additional abstracts in German, Catalan and Italian. Nachtbus nach Mitte presented contemporary Berlin poetry. Together, these projects show the organization’s role as an event producer, cultural intermediary, publisher and advocate for multilingual literary participation. The association maintains a volunteer-based office in Berlin. Publicly available material does not establish a conventional corporate ownership structure, commercial parent company or listed status. Its identity remains that of an independent nonprofit literary organization whose work is organized around access, experimentation, translation and international cultural exchange.

• 2016

  Nachtbus nach Mitte published

  [1]Berliner Literarische Aktionen.wikipedia.org

  The organization contributes to an anthology of contemporary Berlin poetry edited by Martin Jankowski and Birger Hoyer.

• 2012

  Art and Culture in Prison published

  [1]Berliner Literarische Aktionen.wikipedia.org

  A multilingual publication documents cultural work in prisons and reflects the organization’s involvement in prison-education and arts initiatives.

• 2011

  Jakarta Berlin published

  [1]Berliner Literarische Aktionen.wikipedia.org

  Jakarta Berlin presents German-English essays and photographs connected with literary and cultural exchange between Jakarta and Berlin.

• 2010

  U(DYS)TOPIA published

  [1]Berliner Literarische Aktionen.wikipedia.org

  The association contributes to a trilingual publication exploring contemporary Indonesian and German treatments of myths, fairy tales and legends.

• 2005

  Organization founded

  [1]Berliner Literarische Aktionen.wikipedia.org

  Berliner Literarische Aktion is established in Berlin by an international network of literary activists, with Martin Jankowski serving as chairman.

• 2002

  International SLAM!Revue begins

  [1]Berliner Literarische Aktionen.wikipedia.org

  The multilingual International SLAM!Revue is developed as a new poetry-slam and literary-performance format associated with the Berlin International Literature Festival.

A nonprofit, socially engaged literary platform focused on multilingual contemporary literature, international exchange, experimental event formats and access to literature beyond conventional cultural venues.

• Online literary magazine

  Stadtsprachen

  A freely accessible online magazine presenting multilingual contemporary literature connected with Berlin. It publishes authors working in different languages, provides German translations and creates a continuing digital platform for literary voices that may be underrepresented in monolingual cultural media.

• Literary performance program · 2002

  International SLAM!Revue

  A multilingual poetry-slam and literary-performance format developed in connection with the Berlin International Literature Festival. It combines live performance, international participation and literary translation, and was presented regularly during the 2002–2010 period.

• Cultural-education program

  Literature behind bars

  A prison-reading and cultural-education initiative that brings international authors into contact with detainees. Initially developed for prisons in Berlin, the model generated wider European interest and was connected with research on cultural education in correctional settings.

• Book and intercultural publication · 2010

  U(DYS)TOPIA

  A German-English-Indonesian publication addressing the emergence of myths, fairy tales and legends in contemporary Indonesian and German culture. It was edited by Martin Jankowski and published by Regiospectra in Berlin.

• Cultural-exchange publication · 2011

  Jakarta Berlin

  A German-English publication combining essays and photographs around cultural links between Jakarta and Berlin. It represents the organization’s practice of documenting international literary and artistic exchange through book projects.

• Research and cultural-education publication · 2012

  Art and Culture in Prison

  An English-language publication on arts and culture in prison, with abstracts in German, Catalan and Italian. It reflects the organization’s involvement in European discussions and research concerning cultural education within correctional institutions.

• Poetry anthology · 2016

  Nachtbus nach Mitte

  An anthology of contemporary Berlin poetry edited by Martin Jankowski and Birger Hoyer. The publication extends the organization’s role in presenting current urban literary voices beyond live events.

• 2002International SLAM!Revue

  Germany

  A multilingual literary-performance series associated with the Berlin International Literature Festival, using poetry slam to connect international writers, live performance and translation.

  Outcome. The format was described as influential and was subsequently imitated in other locations.

  Source
• Literature behind bars

  Germany · Europe

  A prison-reading initiative bringing international authors into correctional institutions and using literature as a form of cultural education and social outreach.

  Outcome. The initiative attracted interest beyond Berlin and contributed to European research and discussion about cultural education in prisons.

  Source
• Stadtsprachen

  Germany · International

  An open online magazine presenting multilingual contemporary literature from Berlin, including original texts and German translations.

  Outcome. The platform broadened the organization’s reach beyond physical events and created an ongoing digital showcase for multilingual Berlin literature.

  Source

1. 1Berliner Literarische Aktionen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Berliner Literarische Aktion official websiteberliner-literarische-aktion.de
3. 3Stadtsprachenstadtsprachen.de
4. 4New York Berliner Festivalnyb-festival.de
5. 5Jakarta Berlin projectjakarta-berlin.de