I REMEMBER

I remember when I used to get up in the morning and leave my house to go to the coffee shop.

I remember when I used to get up in the morning and leave my house.

I remember when I used to get up in the morning.

John Wray – Mexico City

And then we all closed the doors. Lived in our houses. I met my children and my husband in a timeless universe: hall, stairs, living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, again. Hall, stairs, living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, again.

We were a time capsule. What would people think when they would find us later? 

Enne Koens – Utrecht

I saw omens on every side. My books leaned over like gravestones while I slept. In the morning the display panel on my dishwasher carried this fatal message: End

Ivan Vladislavić – Johannesburg

Ende März 2020, der erste Lockdown in Deutschland und die große Frage: Wann wird die Pandemie enden? Wird sie enden? Was passiert mit der Kultur? Was machen die vielen Schriftsteller und Schriftstellerinnen, die jedes Jahr beim Internationalen Literaturfestival Berlin und anderswo anzutreffen sind? Wie ergeht es ihnen? Wir schreiben eine Mail, um sie zu fragen.

Basierend auf dem Buch „I remember“ von Joe Brainard, in dem er mehr als 1500 Erinnerungen in kurzen Absätzen, immer beginnend mit „I remember“ aufschrieb, bitten wir sie, uns ihre Erfahrungen vom Beginn der Pandemie in ebenso kurzen Sätzen zu schildern.

Bis in den Juli hinein erreichen uns über 130 Beiträge aus aller Welt, die zeigen, dass dieser Zustand universell ist. Jeder Autor und jede Autorin geht unterschiedlich mit der Pandemie um. Ihnen allen gleich ist, dass sie die richtigen Worte finden, um die Situation zu beschreiben.

Das Konvolut liegt in der Schreibtischschublade und wartet auf den richtigen Moment, das Licht der Welt zu erblicken. Wenn die Pandemie vorbei ist und ein emotionaler Abstand dazu herrscht, wird es interessant sein, was die Autoren und Autorinnen damals dazu zu sagen hatte. 

Mit Beiträgen u.a. aus Berlin, Mexiko City, Kyjiw, Lyon, Ljubljana, Antwerpen, Utrecht, Tel Aviv, Kyoto, Santa Barbara, Århus, Inverness, Belgrad, ­­Montreal, Five Ridge, London, Zürich, Kapstadt, Wien, Harare, Alfortville, Pandalam, Teheran, Marrakesch, Bologna, Lafayette, Norwich, Mohammedia, Lissabon, Frauenfeld, Nairobi, Hongkong, Kairo, Adelaine, Sidney, Stockholm, Salzburg, Tucson, New York City, Yangon, Los Angeles, Anost, Lahore, Tokyo, Marienberg, Molsheim, Brüssel, Swansea, Melbourne, Surabaya, Amsterdam, Madrid, Seoul, Rom, Guatemala, Belfast, Washington DC, Tiflis, Paris, Johannesburgm Budapest, Sassari, Buenos Aires, Montpellier, Gloucester Massachusetts, Jakarta, Reykjavik, Prag, Brazzaville, Holmestrand, Havanna, Haifa, Düren, Saalfelden, Bukarest, Rio Piedas Puerto Rico, Dublin, Belchertown Massachusetts, Tirana, Biel, Orlando, Ithaka

End of March 2020, the first lockdown in Germany and the big question: When will the pandemic end? Will it end? What will happen to culture? What are the many writers doing who can be found every year at the Berlin International Literature Festival and elsewhere? How are they doing? We write an email to ask them.

Based on the book "I remember" by Joe Brainard, in which he wrote down more than 1500 memories in short paragraphs, always beginning with "I remember", we ask them to tell us about their experiences from the beginning of the pandemic in equally short sentences.

By July, we receive more than 130 contributions from all over the world, showing that this condition is universal. Each author deals with the pandemic differently. What they all have in common is that they find the right words to describe the situation.

The convolute lies in the desk drawer, waiting for the right moment to see the light of day. When the pandemic is over and there is an emotional distance to it, it will be interesting to see what the authors had to say about it at the time.

With contributions, among others from Berlin, Mexico City, Kyiv, Lyon, Ljubljana, Antwerp, Utrecht, Tel Aviv, Kyoto, Santa Barbara, Århus, Inverness, Belgrade, Montreal, Five Ridge, London, Zurich, Cape Town, Vienna, Harare, Alfortville, Pandalam, Tehran, Marrakech, Bologna, Lafayette, Norwich, Mohammedia, Lisbon, Frauenfeld, Nairobi, Hong Kong, Cairo, Adelaine, Sidney, Stockholm, Salzburg, Tucson, New York City, Yangon, Los Angeles, Anost, Lahore, Tokyo, Marienberg, Molsheim, Brussels, Swansea, Melbourne, Surabaya, Amsterdam, Madrid, Seoul, Rome, Guatemala, Belfast, Washington DC, Tbilisi, Paris, Johannesburgm Budapest, Sassari, Buenos Aires, Montpellier, Gloucester Massachusetts, Jakarta, Reykjavik, Prague, Brazzaville, Holmestrand, Havana, Haifa, Düren, Saalfelden, Bucharest, Rio Piedas Puerto Rico, Dublin, Belchertown Massachusetts, Tirana, Biel, Orlando, Ithaka