Tenth Thomas Mann Lecture with Laura de Weck

Description

Program Welcome: Dr. Rafael Ball, Director of ETH Library Introduction: Prof. Dr. Andreas Kilcher, Literature and Cultural Studies, ETH Zurich Lecture: «Only the drama would have been worthy of your torments!» Laura de Weck Followed by a reception. Register here for the lecture Laura de Weck (Hamburg) As a novelist, Thomas Mann is one of the most read German-speaking authors. However, as a dramatist, he is hardly known. This is not surprising: his relationship with the theater was difficult. In 1907, he brought his first and only play, «Fiorenza», to the stage. The theme is classical, asceticism versus sensuality. The structure of the drama, however, is almost postdramatic: prosaic dialogues, open dramaturgy, little action. The criticism at the time reacted negatively. Deeply affected, Mann cursed the «priority of the drama» over the novel as «an arrogance [..], and the aesthetic reasons with which it is defended are academic clutter.» – Laura de Weck will not only shed light on the vulnerability of the writer but also discuss his aesthetic considerations regarding the effectiveness of the drama. Laura de Weck, herself a dramatist and literary critic, hosts the television program «Literaturclub», and her plays are performed internationally. Among her most well-known works are the play «Lieblingsmenschen» and the columns «Politik und Liebe machen», published under the title «Politics and Love». De Weck is a member of the jury of the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize and was a jury member and spokesperson for the German Book Prize in 2025. More information can be found here.