Jonathan Lethem

Ten protagonists of the New York literary scene read at the House of World Cultures: famous voices and newcomers, novelists and poets. Polyphony in all respects – these authors offer insights into the diversity of cultural, ethnic and social affiliations that make up life in New York. They tell of worlds between cultures, of experience at the margins of society, and they search for forms through which to portray the complexity of our globalised present.

His almost nostalgic Brooklyn novels "The Fortress of Solitude" and "Motherless Brooklyn" brought Jonathan Lethem international literary stardom. At HKW he will read from his latest novel, "You Don't Love Me Yet". The story of Lucinda, who spends eight hours a day listening to anonymous callers on a complaint hotline, and who transforms the words of a particular caller into pop hits, is the departure point for reflections on desire and, simultaneously, on questions of authorship.

Moderated by Sigrid Löffler (Literaturen).