Dramaturgie im zeitgenössischen Tanz ist ? positiv gemeint ? ein heißes Eisen. Idealerweise sind Dramaturginnen und Dramaturgen während der Erarbeitung eines Stücks die besten Freunde der Choreografen.
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The Germany that makes the headlines is one of hedge-fund 'locusts' and burgeoning numbers of unemployed. Don't believe the hype: the upcoming German federal elections will be fought out in the middle. But unless the Germans stop expecting to be spoon fed by the state, and get proactive, little will be gained by a change of government. By Paul Nolte
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Europe is just a question of money for the British, writes Nepszabadsag. For the New York Review of Books Europeans can also be nationalists. Al Ahram reminds how the British and French fought over Tutankhamun. For Prospect, the EU constitution is above all a stylistic mistake. The Gazeta Wyborca wishes for a bit more respect for the founders of the EU. The Spectator introduces the African WaBenzis. In the Nouvel Obs philosopher Jean-Pierre Dupuy looks into the question of evil. And in the New York Times Magazine Michael Ignatieff engages in a Platonic one-man-dialogue on the American exportation of democracy.
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The reading race is on to see who will take home this year's Ingeborg Bachmann Prize. Awarded as part of the German Literature Days in Klagenfurt, this is Austria's most prestigious literary award, which lauches careers and lines the winner's pocket with a substantial 22,500 euros. We provide some background on the prize and a host of useful links.
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Turkish author Orhan Pamuk is to win what is possibly the most coveted German literary prize, the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. The 25,000 euro prize is awarded by the German Book Trade Association every fall to coincide with the Frankfurt Book Fair.
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Wolfram Siebeck is staying on in London to work his way further down the recent Guardian list of the world's "fifty best restaurants".
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Peter Handke explains in Literaturen why he refuses to act as defense witness in the Hague, although he believes Milosevic is not guilty of the charges brought against him. In Lettre International, Isabel Hilton tells how she cleaned up rural factories as a student in China. A young Christian tells of her love woes in the New Yorker. Umberto Eco pokes fun at the Left's new love for the police in L'Espresso. Eliot Weinberger portrays the Chinese Poet Gu Cheng in the London Review of Books, and Balint Szlanko call the French lazy in Magyar Narancs.
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Once decried as degenerate, then celebrated as the height of artistic expression, the Expressionist group "Die Brücke" has been viewed very differently by the various regimes of Germany's 20th century. A turbulent history. By Christian Saehrendt
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The English paper The Guardian has published a list of the top fifty restaurants in the world. Astonishingly - or perhaps not - 14 of them are in England. Germany's gourmet pope, Wolfram Siebeck, who brought a shimmer of elegance to the kitchens of post-war Germany, is not in complete agreement with the Guardian's choices. Here's his slightly critical take on The Fat Duck.
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In response to the French 'no' to the European constitution, France's new Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has proposed a new kind of union between France and Germany. Journalist and historian Gustav Seibt argues that this would be a disaster for Germany and insists that Europe be considered in a broader historical perspective.
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Rania Gaafar suggests turning Abu Ghraib into a museum in Al Ahram Weekly. Peter Sloterdijk rails against French narcissism in Le point. In Le Nouvel Observateur, Emmanuel Todd argues the French "no" missed the point. In Gazeta Wyborcza, Adam Rotfeld says the USA will mould itself on Europe. And Outlook India writes a portrait of one-man film industry Prosenjit Chatterjee.
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After winning the Golden Bear in Berlin for his last film "Head On", Fatih Akin has now made a documentary on Istanbul's music scene. A talk with Daniel Bax on the film "Crossing the Bridge", tour guides and Vikings, music divas and the responsibilities of critical acclaim.
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The French no is standing guard on the frontiers of the old European Community. The referendum on the constitution became a retrospective referendum against the enlargement from fifteen to twenty-five member states. Formerly Euro-skeptics, the French who recklessly promoted the no on May 29 have become Euro-nihilists. By Andre Glucksmann
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An encounter with the artist of transience Tino Sehgal who, together
with painter Thomas Scheibitz, will represent Germany at the
Venice Biennale which opens to the public on June 12. By Sebastian Frenzel
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On May 29, France voted in a referendum on the European Constitution. For Andre Glucksmann, it was the victory of Euro-nihilism. German-Iranian writer Navid Kermani explains how it feels to be rejected by Europe. German intellectuals write an open letter to their French neighbours, warning of the disastrous consequences of the "non". Paul Virilio calls the referendum a suicidal absurdity. Jürgen Habermas argues that the Left is deluded in thinking the "non" will serve its interests. And Oliver Eberle emphasises the importance of a lively debate.
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Polish cinemas are full of films by the younger generation of German filmmakers. Their common theme seems to be rebellion. Or, as Adam Krzeminski sees it, rebellion lite.
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The youngest generation of Polish writers has avidly taken up the political reality of unemployment, the suburban wasteland and consumption terror in a new spirit of anti-capitalism. But the scene's real superstar, Dorota Maslowska (born 1982), is convincing above all aesthetically. In her works, social misery becomes a virtuoso language game. Her second book, a rap poem, has just been presented at the Warsaw Book Fair. By Ina Hartwig
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In Express, Adam Michnik recalls that Europe was founded as an alternative model to totalitarianism, not to liberalism. In the Gazeta Wyborcza, Jean-Louis Bourlanges warns Europeans that the competition to fear is coming from China, not from Poland and Plus-Minus demands a further eastward expansion of the EU. The Spectator sees the only chance for Europe in its destruction while The Economist believes Great Britain has already succeeded in this respect. The New York Review of Books is aghast by the unprecedented degree of corruption of the Bush regime. Andrzej Stasiuk describes the gypsy settlement in Slovakian Rudnany in Ozon. And Folio introduces a ravishing blond with a five o'clock shadow.
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Both France and the Netherlands have rejected the European Constitution. German-Iranian author Navid Kermani reflects on what this means to him, as someone who wanted to become - or thought he was - a European.
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So cunning is history: The cornerstones of the Berlin Republic – the departure from the social market economy, the rediscovery of war, the mistrust of the state for its citizens, the historicisation of the Holocaust – were laid by the West German 68ers. An attempt by a member of the old German Federal Republic to come to terms with the country he lives in. By Arno Widmann
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