German Guest Writers Give Public Reading

Reading: 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31 Burling Library Lounge

Thomas Pletzinger and Simon Urban will read from their works in English and German. This public is invited to this free event. Refreshments will be served.

In addition to the public reading, both writers will share their insight on the German contemporary writing scene with students and faculty, learn about local farms, and visit the Conard Environmental Research Area.

Thomas Pletzinger's critically acclaimed novel Funeral for a Dog won several awards, including fellowships and teaching positions at the University of Iowa, New York University, and Grinnell College. Pletzinger is currently working on a novel titled Biography of My Left Leg, the story of a man waiting for the amputation of his left leg in a Berlin hospital room. Having already done extensive research in all cities this novel is set in—Prague, Berlin, New York, Hagen, and Paris, the author is in Iowa doing location scouting. He is searching for locations and impressions that will make his story authentic and real. His interest in Iowa stems from a previous stay as the Department of German's 2010 Writer-in-Residence and as a member of the University of Iowa's International Writing Program.

Simon Urban turned to full-time fiction writing after a career in advertising. He is the author of the novel Plan D, which has been translated into eleven languages, and his award-winning short stories have been published in several literary journals. He is currently in residence at the University of Iowa's International Writing Program.

The German Department, the Center for International Studies, the Academic Speakers Fund, and the Center for Prairie Studies are sponsoring Pletzinger and Urban’s visit.