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On Saturday, January 14, Dr. Max Czollek will discuss his vision for subversive art and literature in the formulation of a new, intersectional discourse on identity and belonging in the German-speaking world. His talk will include a bilingual reading and discussion of his non-fiction and poetry alongside his English translator, Dr. Jon Cho-Polizzi.
Dr. Max Czollek is a poet, publicist, and curator, and one of the most influential young voices in contemporary Germany. He received his doctorate from the Center for Research on Antisemitism at the Technische Universität Berlin and is known for his theatrical and essayistic work on memory culture, (de-)integration, and Jewish identity in postwar Germany, as well as his polemical takes on German politics as a public intellectual. In addition to three collections of poetry published with Verlagshaus Berlin, he is also the author of a best-selling essay trilogy on the Jewish position in contemporary German society: Desintegriert euch! [De-Integrate!], Gegenwartsbewältigung [Overcoming the Present], and Versöhnungstheater [The Theater of Reconciliation] published by Hanser Verlag.
Czollek’s works contrast the experiences of minoritized communities living in Germany with the country’s much-lauded tradition of remembrance as “Vergangenheitsbewältigung” [overcoming the past], arguing instead for the need to recognize ongoing continuities with historic violence as a prerequisite for any reconciliation with the German past. His curation, writing, and collaborations with diverse artists have helped lay the groundwork for re-thinking contemporary Germany as a country of “radical diversity”—a place where all individuals participate in shaping a society where one can be different without fear.
Educator, freelance literary translator, and longtime East Bay resident, Dr. Jon Cho-Polizzi is now an Assistant Professor of German at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on translation and the intersections of migration, poetry, and radical politics in the reimagining of post-Reunification German identity. His translations of Czollek’s work have appeared at the Jewish Museum Berlin and the Maxim Gorki Theater, as well as in periodicals, journals, and anthologies. An English translation of Czollek’s first nonfiction volume, Desintegriert Euch! [De-Integrate! A Jewish Survival Guide for the 21st Century] is published by Restless Books (2023).
Desintegriert Euch! [De-Integrate! A Jewish Survival Guide for the 21st Century] Book Tour:
Jan 8, Goethe Institut NYC with Leo Baeck Institute
Jan 10, UNC Asheville, Department of German Studies
Jan 12, University of Michigan, Frankel Center for Judaic Studies and Department of German
Jan 14, 2727 California Street, Berkeley
Jan 15, Manny’s SF with Goethe Institut SF
Jan 17, UCLA Department of European Languages and Transcultural Studies
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Jan 17, Thomas Mann House, Los Angeles
Jan 19, UBC, Department of Central, Eastern and Northern European Studies Vancouver
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Jan 19, Vancouver Jewish Book Festival