Poetry Salon: A Symposium Marking Marcel Beyer’s 60th Birthday

“Moshammer. A word like excavator blood.” Hardly anyone has shaken up contemporary German literature with such imaginative force and, at the same time, such refined and nuanced intelligence as Marcel Beyer, born in Tailfingen, Württemberg, and a resident of Dresden since 1996. He writes novels, short stories, essays, poems, and libretti, and collaborates on projects with visual artists. His awards include the Heinrich von Kleist Prize, the Georg Büchner Prize, the Peter Huchel Prize, and the Friedrich Hölderlin Prize from the City of Homburg.

On November 23, 2025, Beyer turned 60—a welcome occasion to honor him as an author who has become a key figure in contemporary literature as well as in literary studies. The symposium in his honor brings together colleagues and younger scholars for a discussion of his work and its impact: Jörn-Peter Hiekel, Claudia Hillebrandt, Joana van de Löcht, and Gabriele Wix.

The symposium is organized by Frieder von Ammon and Peer Trilcke. The highlight of the event will be an evening reading in which Beyer himself Lecture poems spanning four decades, moderated by the poet Nadja Küchenmeister.

Admission to the conference is free. Admission to the evening event: 10 euros / 7 euros (reduced rate) (members of the Lyrik Kabinett: free admission).