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Through her masterful storytelling, she undermines apparent certainties, tackling key questions of our time in her novels: Olga Grjasnowa is the 2026 Poet in Residence at the University of Duisburg-Essen. From 19 to 22 May, she will address questions such as: How much reality can a novel contain, and what defines political writing in the Instagram era? All interested parties are warmly invited.
Olga Grjasnowa was born in Azerbaijan in 1984. Her debut novel ‘All Russians Love Birch Trees’ (2012), was praised by literary critics, won several awards, and was adapted for cinema ten years later. Since 2023, Grjasnowa has been a professor at the Institute for Language Arts at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. Prior to this, she spent time abroad in Israel, Poland, Russia and Turkey, and was a visiting professor in the USA and Switzerland. Her works have so far been translated into 15 languages.
In her lectures at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Olga Grjasnowa explores the structure and political context of novel creation. How do characters, dynamics, distinctive language and plot emerge from the chaos of initial drafts, notes and ideas? What decisions need to be made, and when? She will also discuss poetics in a political context, and consider how reality influences literary works.
An overview of her public readings (in German only):
• Tuesday, 19 May, 4–6 pm: Poetics Lecture 1 – 'How a Novel is Created'. From Chaos to Structure
• Wednesday, 20 May, 4–6 pm: Poetics Lecture 2 – What to write about. Poetics in a political context
• Thursday, 21 May, 6–8 pm: Reading from her latest novel ‘July, August, September’
All events will take place on the Essen campus in Lecture Theatre R11 T00 D05 (opposite the library). No registration is required.
According to Dr Stefan Hermes from the Institute of German Studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen, the lecturers in German Literature Studies found it an easy decision to choose Olga Grjasnowa as Poet in Residence for 2026: 'Olga Grjasnowa is one of the most significant contemporary German-language authors, and many of our students are very interested in her work. Her novels are stylistically masterful and highly topical, particularly with regard to intercultural dynamics arising from war and displacement.’
PD Dr. Stefan Hermes, German Literature Studies, +49 201/18 3-6030, stefan.hermes@uni-due.de
Portrait of Olga Grjasnowa
Quelle: Valeria Mitelman
Copyright: Valeria Mitelman
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