NVITATION | KRAUTGARDEN FESTIVAL | CONVERSATIONS | READINGS | Mar 4 and 5

THE AUSTRIAN CULTURAL FORUM NEW YORK AND THE KRAUTGARDEN FESTIVAL PRESENT THE SOUND OF LITERATURE CONVERSATIONS | READINGS WEDNESDAY MAR 4, 6:30 PM and THURSDAY MAR 5, 6:30 PM New voices from Austria, Germany, and the United States. A series of conversations and readings with the authors, moderated by Klaus Nüchtern. Verena Rossbacher, Clemens Setz, Klaus Nüchtern WEDNESDAY MAR 4, 6:30 PM Authors: Justin Courter, Benjamin Lebert, Tao Lin, and Verena Rossbacher. Moderator: Klaus Nüchtern. Justin Courter is the author of the novel "Skunk: A Love Story", and a collection of prose poems, "The Death of the Poem" and "Other Paragraphs". His work has appeared in the anthology Paraspheres and in numerous literary magazines, including The Berkeley Fiction Review, Fugue, LIT, The Literary Review, The New Orleans Review, The North Dakota Quarterly, The Northwest Review, Pleiades, and The Portland Review. He lives in New York with the poet KC Trommer and works for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Benjamin Lebert is a German author born in Freiburg in 1982. His first novel "Crazy", was published when Lebert was only 16 years old. In 2003, he published a second novel, "Der Vogel ist ein Rabe" (The Bird Is a Raven), which has just recently been published in English. Lebert lives in Berlin, Germany and writes articles for the young-adult supplement of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Tao Lin is the author of a novel, "Eeeee Eee Eeee", and a story collection, "Bed", which were published simultaneously by Melville House Publishing in May, 2007. He is also the author of two poetry collections, "you are a little bit happier than i am", which won Action Books' December Prize in 2005; and "cognitive-behavioral therapy", which was published in May. His forthcoming books include a novella, "Shoplifting from American Apparel", to be published in September, 2009, and his second novel, "Richard Yates", to be published early in 2010. Both books will be published by Melville House Publishing. Verena Rossbacher was born in Bludenz/Vorarlberg, and grew up in Austria and Switzerland. She studied philosophy, German studies and theology in Zurich, as well as at the Deutsches Literaturinstitut in Leipzig. She received a daramtist's grant in Zurich in 2002, and a literature grant from the province of Vorarlberg in 2005. In the spring of 2009, her book "Verlangen nach Drachen" ("Longing for Dragons") will be published by Kiepenheuer and Witsch. Samovar tea and light snacks will be served. THURSDAY MAR 5, 6:30 PM Authors: Christian Hawkey, Steffen Popp, Clemens Setz, and Darin Strauss. Moderator: Klaus Nüchtern. Christian Hawkey is the author of "Citizen Of" (Wave Books, 2007), "Hour, Hour", a chapbook which includes drawings by the artist Ryan Mrowzowski (Delirium Press, 2006), and "The Book of Funnels" (Verse Press, 2004), winner of the 2006 Kate Tufts Discovery Award. In 2006 he was given a Creative Capital Innovative Literature Award and he has also received awards from the Poetry Fund and the Academy of American Poets. He teaches at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Steffen Popp studied German Literature und Philosophy in Dresden, Leipzig and Berlin, where he has lived since 2001. In 2004, his collection of poetry "Wie Alpen" ("Like the Alps") was published, as was his 2006 novel "Ohrenberg oder der Weg dorthin" ("Ohrenberg or the Way There"). He has been awarded several prizes and fellowships in Germany and Austria for both his poetry and prose. Clemens J. Setz was born in Graz, Austria, in 1982. Mr. Setz is an overtone singer, translator, (founding) member of the literature group Plattform. He has published poems and short stories in magazines and anthologies including manuskripte, Lichtungen, Jahrbuch der Lyrik 2007, and Stimmenfang (2006) as well as on the radio. "Söhne und Planeten" ("Sons and planets", 2007) is his first book-length publication and was nominated for the aspekte literature prize. In 2008, Setz was awarded the Ernst-Willner-Preis at the 32nd Tage der deutschsprachigen Literatur festival. His second novel, "Die Frequenzen" ("Frequencies"), will be published by Residenz Verlag in spring 2009. Darin Strauss is the international bestselling author of the New York Times Notable books "Chang and Eng" and "The Real McCoy". Also a screenwriter, he is adapting "Chang and Eng" with Gary Oldman, for Disney. The recipient of a 2006 Guggenheim Fellowship in fiction writing, he is a Clinical Associate Professor at NYU's Graduate school. Samovar tea and light snacks will be served. MODERATOR Klaus Nüchtern was born in 1961 in Linz, Austria. He studied English and German language and literature. He is a columnist for and the deputy editor of the Viennese weekly "Falter", and writes for the Austrian National Broadcasting System (ORF). Recent publications include "Hier kommt der Antipastidepp", 2007 ("Here Comes the Antipasti-Idiot"), and "Kleine Quittenkantate für Kastratensopran und Querflötenquintett", 2005 ("Small Quince-Cantata for Castrato-Soprano and Flute Quintet"). CROSSROADS is a collaboration between the Austrian Cultural Forum New York, The Goethe Institute New York, and the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York, dedicated to jointly promoting German-language literary events. VENUE Austrian Cultural Forum NY, 11 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10022 RESERVATIONS Free Admission. Reservations necessary. 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