„…auch die Gedanken freier werden zu lassen…“ News from the WerkStatt

(…to also let the thoughts run free…)

(Anita Gruhn)

News from the WerkStatt

What was Heinrich Heine looking for on Norderney? How did German communists who had fled the Nazi regime survive in exile in Moscow? Can a story be told using only euphemisms? What did Germans who once emigrated to the Dutch East Indies experience and do? How do you put into words the mysterious sensations after an acupuncture session? Between historical research and personal boundary-pushing experiences, the thematic diversity of our writing workshop at VHS Pankow unfolds.

The writing workshop itself also has a special history: it traces back to a “circle of writing workers” in the GDR. Dedicated participants preserved it after the fall of the Wall, along with an extensive archive, and founded the association “SchreibArt e.V.” The VHS Pankow gave it a new home. Since then, the group has continually evolved and reinvented itself.

We cordially invite you to discover current texts from the workshop: poetry and prose that reflect the full spectrum of literary creation—surprising, multifaceted, and closely attuned to the big and small questions of our time.

Introduction and moderation by Astrid Vehstedt, director of the writing workshop.

Astrid Vehstedt

Director, Author, and Filmmaker

Born in Hamburg. Studied directing at the University of Music and Performing Arts under Prof. Götz Friedrich and Prof. Gyula Trebitsch, Studio Hamburg, and ZDF. Studied German literature under Walter Höllerer. Engagements include the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Halle Opera, and the National Theater in Baghdad. Founded and directed the “ensemble interculturel” for contemporary music theater in Brussels. Author of numerous libretti, the crime novel “Sonutarium Labyrinth,” and contributions to anthologies. Since 2021, Writers-in-Exile Representative and Vice President of PEN Center Germany.