Empathy When

In this episode John talks with Calla Henkel. She was born in 1988 in Minneapolis, MN, USA. A writer, playwright, director and artist, she currently lives and works in Berlin. She has staged plays at Volksbühne Berlin, The Whitney Museum of Art, as well as at New Theater, the experimental theatre space she founded and programmed in Berlin from 2013-2015. Her art writing has been published in periodicals such as Texte zur Kunst, Spike, Mousse, and others. Her artistic work with Max Pitegoff has been exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide. She currently operates a bar, performance space and film studio called TV in Berlin. Other People’s Clothes is her debut novel.  Recorded in front of a live audience on the terrasse of Tropez, Sommerbad Humboldthain on July 28, 2021Thanks to Ziemowit Nowak and Torben Wessel for production and editing support.Theresa Patzschke for voiceline contribution. Title music: Jemek Jemowit "Meine Tabletten”, 2011Related LinksPublisher's PageGuardian Review of Other People's ClothesCheck out the homepage, Instagram and Twitter of Broken Dimanche Press for more info. Please leave a review if you have enjoyed this podcast.Many thanks to Calla for joining me in conversation and the entire team at Tropez. XJ

John talks with Kristian Vistrup Madsen. We have a fascinating conversation about Kristian’s correspondence with a prisoner in the USA, what it means to tell people’s stories and how writing can lead to a better understanding of ourselves and the world at large. Kristian is a writer based in Berlin. He is a contributor to magazines such as Artforum, Frieze, Texte Zur Kunst and Kunstkritikk, and the recipient of the 2020 Broken Dimanche Press Writing Prize. DOING TIME, a collection of essays about prison correspondence, appropriation, and the boundaries of fiction, was published by Floating Opera Press in Summer 2021.Recorded in front of a live audience on the terrasse of Tropez, Sommerbad Humboldthain on August 1, 2021Thanks to Ziemowit Nowak and Torben Wessel for production and editing support.Theresa Patzschke for voiceline contribution. Title music: Jemek Jemowit "Meine Tabletten”, 2011Related LinksDOING TIMEHopeless Romantics at FUTURA, PragueKristian’s Artforum ProfileKristian’s HomepageCheck out the homepage, Instagram and Twitter of Broken Dimanche Press for more info. Please leave a review if you have enjoyed this podcast.Many thanks to Kristian for joining me in conversation and the entire team at Tropez. XJ

John talks with Mayra A. Rodríguez Castro, a poet, writer and editor about life in Berlin - and other cities, the life and work of Audre Lorde and the book by Lorde which Castro edited in 2020, Dreams of Europe. Other topics include archives and the curiosity they encourage, the universal vs the particular, the poetic impulse and a really fun rapid-fire-question round!Recorded in front of a live audience on the terrasse of Tropez, Sommerbad Humboldthain on July 18, 2021Thanks to Ziemowit Nowak and Torben Wessel for production and editing support.Theresa Patzschke for voiceline contribution. Title music: Jemek Jemowit "Meine Tabletten”, 2011Related LinksDREAM OF EUROPE INTERVIEW WITH MAYRA Check out the homepage, Instagram and Twitter of Broken Dimanche Press for more info. Please leave a review if you have enjoyed this podcast.Many thanks to Mayra for joining me in conversation and the entire team at Tropez. XJ

John talks with writer Rebecca Rukeyser about teaching creative writing, and writing workshops, the art of writing and editing, the revisionist western as a genre, her fantastic novel The Sea Plane on Final Approach and we carry out a daredevil reenactment from the book live.  We also play IN FULL the terrific track by Jemek Jemowit "Meine Tabletten”, enjoy!Recorded in front of a live audience on the terrasse of Tropez, Sommerbad Humboldthain on July 11, 2021Thanks to Ziemowit Nowak and Torben Wessel for production and editing support. Theresa Patzschke for voiceline contribution. Title music: Jemek Jemowit "Meine Tabletten”, 2011Related LinksRebecca at The ReaderRebecca’s forthcoming novelCheck out the homepage, Instagram and Twitter of Broken Dimanche Press for more info. Please leave a review if you have enjoyed this podcast.Many thanks to Rebecca for joining me in conversation and the entire team at Tropez. XJ

John talks with writer Habib William Kherbek. This was a great chat about lots of things - London, being in a band, William’s new novel ‘Best Practices’, fundraising and development aid, pub quizzes and much more. William has a lot of books about to be published so I was lucky to catch up with him.The pub quiz is serious - the first three answers will get a prize, so send in your answers pronto.Recorded in front of a live audience on the terrasse of Tropez, Sommerbad Humboldthain on July 3, 2021Thanks to Ziemowit Nowak and Torben Wessel for production and editing support.Theresa Patzschke for voiceline contribution. Title music: Jemek Jemowit "Meine Tabletten”, 2011Related LinksTwenty Terrifying Tales from Our Technofeudal Tomorrow (Arcadia Missa)William’s book Best PracticesWilliam’s poetry at Left GalleryUltralife - a novelEntropia: The Childhood of a CriticThe Tiktok I mention at the end: https://www.tiktok.com/@tropez_tropezCheck out the homepage, Instagram and Twitter of Broken Dimanche Press for more info. Please leave a review if you have enjoyed this podcast.Many thanks to William for joining me in conversation and the entire team at Tropez. XJ

John talks with artist Kasia Fudakowski about her new book ‘The Roll of The Artist Volume 1’, ex-boyfriends, the artist Lee Lozano, Andy Kaufman, Liesl Karlstadt, Karl Valentin and we get an insight into what a German citizenship ceremony is like.Recorded in front of a live audience on the terrasse of Tropez, Sommerbad Humboldthain on June 19, 2021Thanks to Ziemowit Nowak and Torben Wessel for production and editing support.Theresa Patzschke for voiceline contribution. Title music: Jemek Jemowit "Meine Tabletten”, 2011Related LinksBuy Kasia’s book hereKasia’s WebsiteNOW MORE THAN EVER - 2020 exhibitionLee LozanoLiesl Karlstadt---Check out the homepage, Instagram and Twitter of Broken Dimanche Press for more info. Please leave a review if you have enjoyed this podcast.Many thanks to Kasia for joining me in conversation and the entire team at Tropez. XJ

Want to hear some terrible French? This episode, I start with some dreadful French. But thankfully, it's quickly forgotten thanks to the wonderful Samantha Bohatsch. Samantha's practice covers many shapes and forms, with texts, reading performances, video and printed matter among them. I have a chat with Samantha about her work and her deployment of fiction in her narratives and the role performance takes. At the beginning I shamelessly bribe with presents. We talk about breakups right at the beginning of the pandemic, being in quarantine, and nature of writing, poetry and visual art practices.As mentioned, here is the link to Samantha's wonderful tiktokAnd my much edited (boring) tiktok:Check out Samantha's work online:http://samanthabohatsch.com/https://soundcloud.com/samanthabohatsch/Thanks to Samantha, I really enjoyed this conversation and reading!Samantha Bohatsch, born 1984 in Berlin, lives and works in Berlin. She studied in Karlsruhe (D), Vienna and Berlin and finished her studies as Meisterschülerin of Silvia Bächli at the State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe (D). Her works have been shown at Kunsthalle Baden-Baden (D); Efrimidis Gallery, Berlin; CAN, Neuchâtel (CH); Bob's Pogo Bar/ KW Institute for Contemporary Art Berlin and Forum Stadtpark, Graz (AT). She has been honored with artist fellowships by the Federal State Baden-Württemberg (D), the Arts Foundation Baden-Württemberg (D) and the German Academic Scholarship Foundation.  

No. 7 turned out to be a delight. This episode I changed the format up a bit because I had never met Musa Okwonga until I had the pleasure of having this conversation with him. I had read this extract last winter. It is now his upcoming book "In The End, It Was All About Love" - which is coming out in winter 2021 from Rough Trade Books in London. Part memoir, part poetry, part self-help guide to life in this unique city; it's a look at memory, dating, sexuality, and more. In his reading and conversation, Okwonga will probably touch on, among other things, why Berlin is not Germany, how to deal with heartbreak, how to take joy where you can and how to eat cake in Berlin.Some Musa links: his music outfit: Musa on TwitterStadia podcast:The intro I don't give in the podcast: Musa Okwonga is a Berlin-based writer, broadcaster and musician. The co-host of the Stadio football podcast, he has published one collection of poetry and three books about football, the first of which, "A Cultured Left Foot", was nominated for the 2008 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. His work has appeared in various outlets, including Africa Is A Country, Die Zeit, Die Welt, The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Economist.PS: Shout out to my brother Fergus who was in the socially distanced live audience.

For this outing of BDP's Empathy When, we were delighted to be joined on the terrace of TROPEZ by Adam Fearon. Get ready to travel from Berlin to Frankfurt, Cairo to Baghdad, Adam reads his incredible essay that goes below the surface of the Fayum mummy portraits that date from the 1st century BC onwards, and how our contemporary self-expression is more tactile that our flat screens may suggest.The essay that Adam reads from is supplemented by the following slides: Check out Adam's work via his website The exhibition discussed in the chat can be viewed here Adam Fearon was born in Dublin in 1984 and now lives and works in Berlin. In 2019 he was a recipient of the Arts Council of Ireland's Next Generation award and recent solo projects include: »Relief« at Butler Gallery in Killkenny in 2019, »Ligning« at at Harbinger in Reykjavik or »Things I Think I Want« at Frankfurter Kunstverein in 2017.

Please join us for Empathy When no. 4! We're delighted to welcome you to the terrace of Tropez to enjoy the poetry of Jasmine Reimer. She will be reading some of her book Small Obstructions, and then having a chat with John Holten.Jasmine Reimer is a writer, artist and researcher who has received a BFA from Emily Carr University in 2009 and an MFA from The University of Guelph in 2015. Recent solo exhibitions include ‘Of, In, or Under’ at Forest City Gallery in Ontario, ‘Small Obstructions’ at Georgia Scherman Projects in Toronto and ‘the harder softer side’ at The Dunlop Art Gallery in Regina. In addition to her visual art practice, Reimer maintains a creative and critical writing practice. Her art criticism can be read in Canadian publications including “The Capilano Review”, “Border Crossings” and in the upcoming issue of “Femme Art Review”. In February 2017, in conjunction with an exhibition by the same name, Reimer released her first book of poetry titled, Small Obstructions. Later that year, “Bluestem”, an online and print publication produced by Eastern Illinois University’s English Department, recently published “To Be A Bowl of Tangerines” in its Spring issue.This summer the audience is invited to join us at the poolside in Tropez for a series of readings and poolside chats with writers, poets and artists. Literature has the means to help us escape, reimagine the world anew, or offer bold new ways to engage with the world. It's empathy building. It's also fun. Between weekly live readings and interactions with the Tropez live webcam, BDP and Tropez produce Empathy When - the Tropez Writing Podcast! We will be recording our guests Dani Arbid, Alan Murrin, Mitch Speed, Jasmine Reimer, Adam Fearon und Anna Szaflarski for the public to enjoy, socially distanced storytelling!Broken Dimanche Press is a European press interested in all aspects of books within the wider discourses of contemporary art and literature. It is committed to operating beyond and across national borders and language regions. Ten years after its founding in 2009, the publishing house, which has published over 70 titles and organised numerous exhibitions and events, started a Writers' Prize. BDP is based in Berlin.Broken Dimanche Press podcast series at TROPEZ is part of REALITY.

Empathy When starts with Dani Ghassan Arbid. Born in London, raised in Abu Dhabi, Arbid is a writer, filmmaker and recent entrepreneur. He has worked and lived in Istanbul, Beirut and Berlin where, in 2018, he co-founded Barakunan GmbH, a publishing and media start-up. In September 2019, he was awarded the inaugural Büro BDP Writing Prize, with the novel »The Year of Things Lost« forthcoming in 2020.This summer Broken Dimanche Press' John Holten invites you to join us at the poolside in TROPEZ for a series of readings and poolside chats with writers, poets and artists. Literature has the means to help us escape, reimagine the world anew, or offer bold new ways to engage with our surroundings. It's empathy building. It's also fun. Between weekly live readings and interactions with the TROPEZ live webcam, BDP and TROPEZ are excited to announce Empathy When, Tropez Writing Podcast! We will be recording our invited guests and producing a weekly podcast for you to enjoy, socially distanced storytelling!Recorded on Saturday, 27.6.2019, 4.30 pmBroken Dimanche PressEmpathy When #1: Dani Ghassan Arbid reads from The Year of Things LostYou can buy Dani's books here: https://www.barakunan.com/And check out the full programme of Tropez here: https://tropeztropez.de/

This summer we invite you to join us at the poolside in Tropez for a series of readings and poolside chats with writers, poets and artists. Literature has the means to help us escape, reimagine the world anew, or offer bold new ways to engage with the world. It's empathy building. It's also fun. Between weekly live readings and interactions with the Tropez live webcam, BDP and Tropez are excited to announce Empathy When, Tropez Writing Podcast! We will be recording our invited guests and producing a weekly podcast for you to enjoy, socially distanced storytelling!  

In this  episode John Holten is joined by Tom McCarthy. Tom McCarthy’s work has been translated into more than twenty languages and adapted for cinema, theater, and radio. His novel, C, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, the Walter Scott Prize, and the European Literature Prize; his fourth, Satin Island, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Goldsmiths Prize. In 2013 he was awarded the inaugural Windham-Campbell Literature Prize by Yale University. McCarthy is also the author of the study Tintin and the Secret of Literature, and the essay collection Typewriters, Bombs, and Jellyfish. He lives in Berlin.Recorded in front of a live audience on the terrasse of Tropez, Sommerbad Humboldthain on September 5, 2021Thanks to Ziemowit Nowak and Torben Wessel for production and editing support.Theresa Patzschke for voiceline contribution. Title music: Jemek Jemowit "Meine Tabletten”, 2011Check out the homepage, Instagram and Twitter of Broken Dimanche Press for more info. Please leave a review if you have enjoyed this podcast.Many thanks to Tom for joining me in conversation and the entire team at Tropez. XJ

John talks with Miriam StoneyThis week John is joined by Miriam Stoney. Often working collaboratively, her practice is primarily textual, encompassing art writing, performance, audio and installation. In 2021 her first solo exhibition opened at Kunstverein Kevin Space in Vienna. She received the Broken Dimanche Press Writing Prize in 2020, and will publish her first novel, Things we wore later this yearRecorded in front of a live audience on the terrasse of Tropez, Sommerbad Humboldthain on July 22, 2021Thanks to Ziemowit Nowak and Torben Wessel for production and editing support.Theresa Patzschke for voiceline contribution. Title music: Jemek Jemowit "Meine Tabletten”, 2011Related Linkshttps://www.miriamstoney.com/https://www.kevinspace.org/exhibitions/miriam-stoneyhttps://nileshaw.org/Check out the homepage, Instagram and Twitter of Broken Dimanche Press for more info. Please leave a review if you have enjoyed this podcast.Many thanks to Miriam for joining me in conversation and the entire team at Tropez. XJ

John talks with May-Lan Tan. We talk writing, details, sex writing, screenplay readings…May Lan is the author of the short story collection Things to Make and Break, published in the UK by Sceptre and in the US by Coffee House Press/Emily Books. Her fiction has appeared in Zoetrope: All-Story, the Atlas Review, the Reader, and Areté. She studied art in London and now lives in Berlin. She works as a ghostwriter.Related LinksThings to Make and Break - CHECK IT OUT!May-Lan Tan’s homepageThe Reader Berlin’s interview with May-Lan TanA Screenplay To ReadRecorded in front of a live audience on the terrasse of Tropez, Sommerbad Humboldthain on July 18, 2021Thanks to Ziemowit Nowak and Torben Wessel for production and editing support.Theresa Patzschke for voiceline contribution. Title music: Jemek Jemowit "Meine Tabletten”, 2011

John talks with writer Mark von Schlegell about a whole bunch of things: Jacques Derrida in NYC, Dublin’s Forty Foot, 19th century American literature, Mark’s unique fiction and criticism, LA in the 1990s, science fiction, being Laurence Weiner’s archivist, Raymond Roussel. Also bonus - the author reads his work! And the Rapid Fire Question Round is quite circular this time around...Recorded in front of a live audience on the terrasse of Tropez, Sommerbad Humboldthain on June 26, 2021Thanks to Ziemowit Nowak and Torben Wessel for production and editing support.Theresa Patzschke for voiceline contribution. Title music: Jemek Jemowit "Meine Tabletten”, 2011Related LinksMark’s HomepageMark’s Lecture on Raymond Roussel===Check out the homepage, Instagram and Twitter of Broken Dimanche Press for more info. Please leave a review if you have enjoyed this podcast.Many thanks to Mark for joining me in conversation and the entire team at Tropez. XJ

This special extra episode rounds out the series of Empathy When. It features a wonderful chat with Jess Korp, and her presentation of her research and study at the swimming pool this summer. Check out the organisation Jess mentions in the show hereThe random cultural tip I offer is available to listen here, My Bloody Valentine's LovelessThe protests, the pandemic, the swimming pool time-slot cards. Summer 2020 has made visible how our everyday life is marked by inequalities, limits and restrictions. The swimming pool, a place of democratic pleasure and utopian fantasy, actually excludes many people. How does swimming feel like this summer as a person of colour? The presentation by Jessica Korp reveals perspectives, contexts and stories from the experiences of people of colour in the Sommerbad Humboldthain.Jessica Korp is interested in the postcolonial history of migration, work in late capitalism, and everyday life as a stage for social contexts. She is a student of European ethnology and an active member of Aktivistar Filmkollektiv and Sonic In(terv)entions. Korp has supervised our program this summer as a resident researcher of REALITY.

Warning: I go full Oprah in this one! For the penultimate in the corona-time series of socially distanced podcast-readings, I chat with artist Elif Saydam. Saydam is a painter and writer, and has worked with Broken Dimanche Press in the past, most notably for a book and project for Berlin Art Week 2019 together with Vera Palme. The week after the podcast recording, they opened a show of new paintings at Tanya Leighton Gallery. They've contributed the mind-blowing online memory game Déjà Vu to Tropez's online summer exhibition REALITY. The conversation swirls around the practice of painting, writing and features some reading of their work.Check out the show at Tanya Leighton Gallery here: https://tanyaleighton.com/currentFor more info and documentation, as well as the chance to buy the blockbuster itself, check out: https://www.brokendimanche.eu/new-index#/colt-jonners-desecration-of-descentThe Silverfish-Featherduster romance Von Fleisch und Zucker can be found in the Montez Press Radio archive here: https://radio.montezpress.com/#/archive ... Just search for Elif Saydam and you can queue the piece in the webplayer. For documentation of the exhibition Selfing, on view at Mélange in March of 2020, and to read the texts, click here: http://megamelange.com/elif-saydam/And a link to the book by Daniel Lavery: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781982105211 Elif Saydam is a Turkish-Canadian artist, writer and performer based in Berlin. Past performances and exhibitions include Miss St’s Hieroglyphic Suffering at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin, emic etic at Between Bridges in Berlin, No R.E.M. at Ashley in Berlin, and Le Misanthrope 1666 at La Biennale de Montréal, among others. 

The sun is shining in this one! In this episode John Holten is joined live on the Tropez terrace by artist and writer Mitch Speed. Reading his much commented upon essay, 'The Case Against Art', the conversation is anything but boring. Mitch Speed is an artist and writer based in Berlin. His book about Mark Leckey’s 1999 video artwork Fiorruci Made Me Hardcore, was published Afterall Books in Autumn 2019. He contributes to several publications, including Frieze, Mousse, Momus, and Camera Austria.This summer Broken Dimanche Press' John Holten invites you to join us poolside in TROPEZ for a series of readings and chats with writers, poets and artists. Literature has the means to help us escape, reimagine the world anew, or offer bold new ways to engage with our surroundings. It's empathy building. It's also fun. Between weekly live readings and interactions with the TROPEZ live webcam, BDP and TROPEZ are excited to announce Empathy When, the Tropez Writing Podcast! We will be recording our invited guests and producing a weekly podcast for you to enjoy some socially distanced storytellingBroken Dimanche Press reading series at TROPEZ is part of REALITY

In this episode, John Holten is joined live on the Tropez terrace by artist and writer Anna M. Szaflarski. In 2004, Szaflarski competed at the Canadian Olympic Trials. That is to say, she can swim, and swim well. For this session, she composed a special text for the context of Tropez, and indeed carries out a full blown swimming class! The audience participated, form was improved, the speed in the pool increased! Check it out. Anna published the book of stories and illustrations Very Normal People in 2019 and a collection of essays in Letters to the Editors in 2016.  Check out her webpage for more: http://www.annaszaflarski.com/This summer Broken Dimanche Press' John Holten invites you to join us poolside in TROPEZ for a series of readings and chats with writers, poets and artists. Literature has the means to help us escape, reimagine the world anew, or offer bold new ways to engage with our surroundings. It's empathy building. It's also fun. Between weekly live readings and interactions with the TROPEZ live webcam, BDP and TROPEZ are excited to announce Empathy When, the Tropez Writing Podcast! We will be recording our invited guests and producing a weekly podcast for you to enjoy some socially distanced storytelling Broken Dimanche Press reading series at TROPEZ is part of REALITY.