Author Peggy Mädler reads from her latest novel.
“Selbstregulierung des Herzens” unfolds a multifaceted panorama of life in the German Democratic Republic and in newly reunified Germany. At its center are Georg, who at first still hopes to move his state forward with the help of early computers and cybernetics, and the artist Mona.
Around them a rich ensemble of characters develops: Roland, a disillusioned intellectual who flees to the West; Marlies, who tries to reform the system from within; as well as Mona’s artist friends. They all meet in a village near Wandlitz, where strange secret construction activities soon begin.
With quiet force, Peggy Mädler writes about the shimmering tension between stability and dissolution—about closeness and alienation, adaptation and resilience.
Peggy Mädler studied theatre, education, and cultural studies in Berlin and received her doctorate in cultural studies in 2008. In 2007, together with Julia Schleipfer, she founded the artist collective “Labor für kontrafaktisches Denken.” She has been awarded several fellowships, including from the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Künstlerdorf Schöppingen, the Akademie der Künste (Alfred Döblin Fellowship), as well as the Berliner Senat. Her novel “Wohin wir gehen” tells stories of family and friendship between Brno, Liberec, and Berlin, spanning a period from the 1930s to the present day. In 2019, Mädler received the Fontane Literature Prize from Neuruppin and the state of Brandenburg. Peggy Mädler lives and works in Berlin.
Admission free. Further information coming soon.
