Offener Leseabend

## Where & When?

**EVERY MONDAY** the open reading stage of the Berlin Author Forum takes place (except on public holidays)
**START**: 8:00 p.m
**REGISTRATION for reading: from 7:30 p.m.**
with the moderator of the evening – see [Appointments](http://autorenforum-berlin.de/wordpress/termine/);
Participation in the event is free.
**SCHWARTZ VILLA**
**Large Salon**
Directly at the S/U Steglitz town hall
Grunewaldstr. 55

The open reading evening is the heart of the Authors' Forum e.V. It is open not only to members, but also to any author who would like to present an unpublished text to an audience. Anyone can also criticize. If you would rather listen, you can simply show up at the Schwartzsche Villa on Monday evening at 8 p.m. For those who want to read, the detailed information below applies (oral registration from 7:30 p.m.).

*Unfortunately at the moment, it's only possible to present German texts. Unpublished texts that are already translated into German are highly welcome!*

## What awaits you?

In the Great Salon of the Schwartzsche Villa you will meet a circle of literature enthusiasts who will give your text a serious and well-founded critique. The audience changes. It is mixed, united by an interest in texts.

The authors of the evening will read from their previously unpublished short stories, lyrical texts, short stories, novels, and sometimes from plays. The authors do not subject themselves to criticism, but rather their texts.

We see ourselves as a working platform. That's why we don't clap after the readings.

After the author has read the texts, they are “checked” for technical strengths and weaknesses. The forum is therefore not about ideological debates. Ideally, after a reading and criticism, the author will have understood what the strengths and weaknesses of his text are, what his text is still lacking, what he should change and where he can start with his revision.

The evening ends around 10 p.m. Afterwards you can talk to the authors in the Schwartzsche Villa café and find out a lot about the literary world. We are also in contact with well-known representatives of the same.

So – don’t disappear right away! Stay tuned.
Talk to the Forumians!

## Would you like to read for yourself?

If you want to read the author forum yourself, there are a few things to keep in mind. We kindly ask you to familiarize yourself with our conditions at least once before your first reading with us. You can then register your reading request with the moderator of a reading evening from 7:30 p.m. (entrance).

**We expressly point out that the respective moderators decide on the acceptance and order of the readings and it does NOT necessarily depend on the order of registrations!**

There is usually only enough time for three authors per evening and the demand is often quite high. If you would like to recite a lyrical text, please bring at least 10 (ten) copies so that your audience can read along. You will of course receive the copies back.

# How do we practice text criticism?

Based on the idea of Maik Turni

## **Sneaking up**

**How does the text affect me?** (Don't be afraid of adjectives! )
**What did I hear?** (Summary (Retelling))
**What remained unclear** (acoustic or logical)

## **Under the magnifying glass**

**What kind of text is this?**
(Prose: Genre? Poetry: What kind of lyrical text?)
**Topic**
(What topic does the text touch on? Does the author have his topic under control?
Is it convincing/plausible/well-researched, perhaps even too full of facts?)
**Figures**
(How do the characters work? Who is the main character? What problem does the main character have?)
**Perspective**
(How does the narrative perspective relate to the theme/characters?)
**Language**
(Which images are correct / which are not?
What can be said about rhythm?
Are the sentences syntactically and grammatically correct?)
**Dramaturgy**
(Does the text manage to create suspense? In what order are things told?)
**Meaning**
(Does the author succeed in allowing the meaning that he wants to give to his text to emerge in the reader?)

## **Rinse aid**

Questions are asked of the text, not of the author!
Therefore the text should answer.

## **Fabric softener**

Not used by us.
But the following applies: it is not the author who is criticized, but the text!
Hard on the text, gentle on the author!