 story with Sharon Doudou-Autu, our guest who has come all the way from Berlin to be with us and we're so grateful that she has made that very long trip. I'm going to tell you a little bit about her but also first before I forget, I would really like to thank our co-sponsors, Department of German Studies, Department of French and Italian, and the program in Africana Studies for their support and putting together the last few days of events with Sharon Doudou-Autu. And I'd also like to thank Sam K. B. the events coordinator from College of Humanities for helping us put together this evening. I'm so happy that this was able to come together and it started all out with a tweet. I'm just going to say this, I've never believed in Twitter before. Before I decided to tweet Sharon and Sharon Doudou-Autu and ask her about the story. And that's one of the reasons why we're here. So Sharon Doudou-Autu is the winner of this year's Ingeborg-Bachmann Prize for Literature in the German language. It is not just a big deal, it's the big deal in Germany, Austria and German language literature. It's the biggest it gets. And she won that prize this year in July 2016 for the short story that you're going to be hearing this evening, which is called, And so this is a really big deal for us to have an Ingeborg-Bachmann Prize winner here in Tucson with us. I believe it's the first time ever. Maybe not the last. So I should share with you before we get started a couple of books by Sharon Doudou-Autu. This is called Die Dinge. Ich denke während ich höflich lächle or the things I'm thinking while I smile lightly. This book, I'm reading it now in English. And it's absolutely beautiful. This book is called Synchronicity. This is a novel called Synchronicity. And this is Winter Shorts, which is an edited collection of short stories. They're all available on a sliding scale between $10 and $15 after the reading. I'll be selling them so that you can talk to Sharon. And so I'll be doing the money part. But I can really recommend these wonderful books to you. They are nourishing wonderful contributions to my life. Let's see, what else? I should mention that Sharon was born in London. And one of the extraordinary and wonderful things about hearing about Bob Munt Prize Wind is that it's not very frequent that someone born in London ends up winning the German Language Literature Prize. So it's quite an extraordinary itinerary that has brought Sharon to this moment. She has lived in Berlin, Germany, since 2006. And earlier than that, she moved from London to Germany, I think, to Hamburg, Hanover, to be an au pair. And so for many of us who have studied foreign language and thought about what is our future in that foreign language, Sharon is an amazing model of what is possible in moving from language to language, from place to place. And so before I start to gush, I should say something about the story that we're going to be reading this evening together, which is, as I said, called, We're going to be performing it bi-lingually for you. So there will be a little bit of German and a little bit of English and a little bit of German and then on top of each other. So that should be fun. I'm excited about that. And it's a story about switching perspectives, about the ability to think of the world from various perspectives and just as you might be getting comfortable in the story as you're listening to us, things start to change. So be ready for that. Right when you think things are becoming normal, they're suddenly not anymore. Is that inaccurate? Yeah. So I think we'll be performing and reading for about 45 minutes and then we'll have plenty of time for discussion and questions and for you to come up to me and get some of these lovely books. Are you ready? I'm ready. I'm going to open my water. Herr Grötthof sits down by Sharon Dudowutu, translated by Patrick Plushnitzky and Judith Menzel. Herr Grötthof sits hin from Sharon Dudowutu. Please ensure that you're sitting in your seat comfortably. It should neither be too warm nor too cold. You may scratch your elbow if you feel to do so. Should you need to cough or sneeze, now would be the appropriate time. You should hold a printed copy of the story in your right hand. Slowly raise your left hand and cover your left eye. You may now begin to read. How is my friend? Hello, I am Faith Thietzch. I am Zeinbottel. I am Faith Thietz. I am Geine. I am Zeinbottel. I am Geinbottel. I am Geine. I am Geine. I am Geine. He was certain. That's why any further discussion was absolutely unnecessary. He just knew he was right. Lips firmly pressed together, he came to a stop next to the stove, continued to look smugly at his watch and decided to tolerate no more nonsense, which is why at the same time, he knew exactly why he was in need of any further discussion. He was simply right. Lips firmly pressed together, he stayed next to the stove, looked with slightly high-pitched eyes and eyebrows, self-cultivated on the wristwatch and decided to tolerate no more nonsense, as a slight step. At the same time, she removed one egg from the pot, then the second, and with just a couple of expert moves, rinsed them both off in cold water. By now, the silence in the kitchen was as sharp as knives. The bubbling of the boiling water aside, the only thing audible was the two people breathing. Person number two, Frau Grotrop, groaned multiple times, but very quietly and almost imperceptibly. Person number one was Herr Grotrop, he nodded as he breathed through his nose, deep in, deep out. At the same time, she removed one egg from the pot, then the second, and rinsed both with a couple of expert moves, rinsed them both off in cold water. The silence in the kitchen was as sharp as knives. The bubbling of the boiling water aside, the only thing audible was the two people breathing. Person number two, Frau Grotrop, groaned multiple times, but very quietly. Person number one was Herr Grotrop, he nodded as he breathed through his nose, deep in, deep out. Herr Grotrop, 78 years old, 91 kilograms, exactly six feet tall, was a German engineer, rocket specialist, retired nine years prior, inventor, and chess genius. Regrettably, he had been forced to give up his weekend cycling tours because of his badly. In the meantime, he had come to enjoy his new status as a routine Sunday driver. Right after church, he liked to chauffeur his wife and his plastic nodding dog along the main streets for hours on end, proudly singing German hiking songs while her hand rested gently on his thigh. He delighted in the punctuality of the Regenade von Trains, in the shady spots in his little area of the shared garden in high summer, and in the small trusty bottle of undebarred bidders at Dayespan. Less pleasing to him, jaywalking news, the anglicization of the genitive case, and presumptuously jumping straight to first name basis. Were someone to call him a Christian in his presence, he would have had to correct them with all due respect. He was a committed Protestant. Were someone to refer to him as a cis man, no doubt he would have frowned in general confusion. And if they had called him white, he would either regard this as a synonym for German or wonder if it was to be taken as an insult. Orville, the question of his disposition of the day. Helmut Gröntun, 78 years old, 91 kilograms, 1 meter, 3 and 80, was a German engineer, a bucket specialist, retired for nine years, inventor and chess genius. He had had to be in the weekly cycling tour for a long time, two years ago, because he had it with his knee. In the meantime, he enjoyed his new status as a regular Sunday spanner. Immediately after the church, he liked to cuddle, sat down with a woman and wiggled up hours along the main street, singing in the morning mountains while her hand was on his thigh. He was pleased with the beauty of the regional railway, the Schattigunstelle, in his schrebergarten wall of the high sun, and the small, reliable flash of underwerk at the end of the day. He found, by word, over the broad range of the youth, the aggressiveness of the genities and the simplicity of it. To start with, he was very good. If anyone of his enemies had called him Christ, he would have corrected it with a curse. He was convinced by the photo. If anyone of his enemies had called him Cisman, he would have had a long irritation, and if anyone of his enemies had called him white, he would have either written it as synonym for German, or asked himself if it was to be understood as a insult, or a question of the day. His morning routine, which had essentially remained the same over the years, would soon come to a close today with the beginning of their breakfast, or to be more precise with the eating of the egg. Usually, it was she, Carl Klipper, who was in charge of the kitchen, while his tasks were to get the mail, to ascertain the outside temperature, and to polish the shoes. He found this division of things quite big. But lately, his wife had permitted herself a few small lapses, which meant that he'd had to supervise everything meticulously. On the other hand, he was a very busy person, and at the same time he was a very busy person, and so he would have to make the most of himself with his little hands. And that would have been a very difficult, difficult task, and it would have been very difficult to make the best out of himself. He was very busy, and he had to take the time to make the best out of Normally, she was the chef of the kitchen, and her tasks were to get the post, to control the outside temperature, and to use the shoes. The division actually fit. But lately, her husband allowed himself a few small mistakes, which lead to him having to control everything carefully. She was simply not as focused on the matter as he was. And so it turned out that he was planning every morning for about eight minutes, to stay on his mind for a short time. That was the last time he was able to stand out. Now, though, he could finally sit down at the breakfast table as everything seemed to be in order. Hands in his pants pockets, had woodwork ambled from the kitchen back into the dining room, collected and content. For a minute, he had actually considered supporting Frau Kotow even more by carrying the tray, as she was certainly not as strong as he. He decided against it, though, seeing as how he really had done quite enough, standing by her side and advising her throughout the morning. Now, however, he could finally sit down at the breakfast table as everything seemed to be in order. With his hands in his pants pockets, Mr. Grötrup was completely satisfied with the kitchen back into the dining room. He had thought for a short while, that Mrs. Grötrup, who was certainly not as strong as he, even with the tray of the table, decided against it, though, as he really had done quite enough for today's morning. Frau Grötrup followed Herr Grötrup. On a small tray, she balanced the butter, the milk, the gouda, three tomatoes, the orange juice freshly squeezed, the silverware, two glasses, two coffee cups, and the eggs, of course. Bread, salt and pepper were already there on the table, she would have to go back into the kitchen one more time for the coffee pot, the plates, and the sugar. Her hands were quivering as the tray really was a bit heavy for her, but ever since he had taken to laying out his clothes in the evening before, Frau Grötrup very much preferred to bring the breakfast to the table on her own in the mornings. Frau Grötrup ging into Herr Grötrup Herr. On a small tray, she balanced the butter, the milk, the gouda, three tomatoes, the orange juice freshly squeezed, the silverware, two glasses, two coffee cups, and the eggs. Bread, salt and pepper were already on the table, she would have to go back into the kitchen one more time for the coffee pot, the plates, and the sugar. Her hands were quivering as the tray really was a bit heavy for her, but ever since he had taken to laying out his clothes in the evening before, Frau Grötrup preferred to bring the breakfast to the table on her own in the mornings. There was a little rattling as she put the tray on the table, but nothing fell over. More than once in her life she had been warned to pay special attention to that. Still, Hack was with eye to whole affair critically, which might have made Frau Grötrup even more shaky, but since she was also especially looking forward to her breakfast egg this morning, only for other reasons than those of Herr Grötrup, she didn't notice it. After she had emptied the tray, she set off once more. It was a little rattling as she put the tray on the table, but nothing fell over. She was warned once in her life to pay special attention to that. However, Frau Grötrup entered the dining room a second time, now with the remaining things. Today's issue of the menu was a little rattling, but it was a little rattling as she was looking forward to her breakfast egg this morning. She didn't notice it. After she had emptied the tray, she set off once more. Frau Grötrup entered the dining room a second time, now with the remaining things. Today's issue of the Merkur had meanwhile been spread out on the table too. Herr Grötrup was reading his newspaper when visibly immense joy about the long-awaited rebuilding of the Munich City Library. There was a pleasant scent of hot coffee and fresh baked bread. Frau Grötrup had no interest in newspapers or city libraries. Had Herr Grötrup given it any thought, he would have come to the realization that he actually no longer had any idea what interested her. Frau Grötrup entered the dining room a second time, now with the remaining things. In the meantime, today's issue of the Merkur spread out on the table. Herr Grötrup was reading visibly immense joy about the long-awaited rebuilding of the Munich City Library. There was pleasant scent of hot coffee and fresh baked bread. Frau Grötrup had no interest in newspapers or city libraries. Had Herr Grötrup given it any thought, he would have come to the realization that he actually no longer had any idea what interested her. She put the plates on the table one in front of him, one in front of herself. Before she too finally sat down. Exactly in that moment, the bells struck 7.30, as though it had all been choreographed to perfection. As Frau Grötrup put the eggs into the egg cups and placed one on his plate, one on her plate, Herr Grötrup reached for his teaspoon without looking up. The library would most likely be ready right on time for next spring. Even the budget appeared to have been realistically calculated this time around. Moreover, he had come to the conclusion, quite incidentally, that his egg had been rinsed and had been cooled down with just the right way today. It just felt comfortably warm. Herr Grötrup was perfectly content with his seat. She put the plates on the table, one in front of him, one in front of herself. Before she too finally sat down. Exactly in that moment, the bells struck 7.30, as though it had all been choreographed to perfection. While Frau Grötrup put the eggs into the egg cups and placed one on his plate, Herr Grötrup reached for his teaspoon without looking up. The library would most likely be ready for next spring. Even the budget was realistically calculated this time around. Moreover, he had come to the conclusion, that his egg had been rinsed with just the right way today, because it just felt comfortably warm. Herr Grötrup was completely satisfied with his egg. What in earth is this? Thank goodness Frau Grötrup didn't drop anything, because her husband yelled just as she was about to start pouring him some coffee and was startled. Herr Grötrup, a tiny drop of coffee seeped into the tablecloth. And what? A tiny drop of coffee seeped into the tablecloth. Upset. Fortunately, she was able to hide the ground spot very well with the sugar bowl. Today was white laundry day anyway. Herr Grötrup, however, now had a few yellow speckles at various sizes on his tie. The fact that, put mildly, brought him great discontent. After he peeled off the tip of the egg and sprinkled some salt and pepper onto it, Herr Grötrup, still in the midst of his reading, had endeavored to pleasurably spoon it out. And he would have done this if the egg hadn't in an entirely unpredictable manner splattered all over him. In other words, a drop of coffee, a tiny drop in the tablecloth. Fortunately, she was able to hide the brown spot very well with the sugar bowl. Herr Grötrup, however, now had a few yellow speckles at various sizes on his tie. The fact that, put mildly, brought him great discontent. After he peeled off the tip of the egg and sprinkled some salt and pepper onto it, Herr Grötrup still in the midst of his reading, had endeavored to pleasurably spoon it out. He would have done this if the egg hadn't in an entirely unpredictable manner and would be splattered out. With other important the egg was still soft. Weish. How is that even possible? He dropped the egg instantly onto his plate and sought to liberate his tie from the sticky yellow chaos using his freshly ironed cotton napkin. Next, Herr Grötrup looked upward. Herr Grötrup was eating her egg classically. Still, it was easy to tell she was now struggling not to let out a snort. It wasn't anything in the carriage of her body that signaled this as her hands were still calm. Though she took the precaution of dabbing around her mouth with her napkin, all the while her lips remained quiet. But Herr Grötrup could see exactly how shudden-poighted scurried across her face how it found a place to rest in her eyes. How could that be? He dropped the egg instantly onto his plate and liberated his tie from the yellow sticky chaos using his freshly ironed cotton napkin. He was annoyed, he looked upward. Herr Grötrup was eating her egg classically. It was easy to tell she was struggling not to let out a snort. It wasn't anything in the carriage of her body that signaled this as her hands were still calm. Though she took the precaution of dabbing around her mouth with her napkin, all the while her lips remained quiet. But Herr Grötrup could see how shudden-poighted scurried across her face how it found a place to rest in her eyes. That was seven and a half minutes when Herr Grötrup sounded less confident than he would have liked to. How Grötrup didn't respond right away confounded Herr Grötrup looked down at his egg again. It was in point of fact still soft, even though he had abided by all the rules of steps. Concluding from the small black H written on his egg and felt-tipped marker, he had already determined unequivocally that the egg could not have been switched by mistake and it could not possibly have been due to low air pressure in the kitchen either. Perhaps the fridge had been colder this morning than usual? He would confirm that right away. His wife's voice hacked into his calculations and equations like a chainsaw. Frau Grötrup reacted zunächst nicht. Herr Grötrup didn't say he thought he actually thought he knew how to explain so quickly. Most of all, he felt that the door of his house had never been opened. But then, when he entered the house and noticed that he knew that the door was locked in and that she noticed that the door was locked in. niedrigeren Luftdrucke der Küche konzessler auch nicht. Vielleicht war der Kücher heute Morgen für die Kälte gewesen als sonst. Das würde er gleich kontrollieren. Wie eine Kettensäge dreht sich Stimme seiner Frau in seiner Rechnung und Gleichung ein. I'll make you another egg, y'all. All we could do was not. Frau Gratow blinked a few times, both were silent. In the next moment, they both stood up. She, because she quite dreadfully, quite urgently and above all, quite alone and behind a closed door, needed to cough. He, because the only thing he could think about was checking on the temperature in the refrigerator. It was only now that he noticed that her hair had in fact become much grayer than his. He could only nod. Frau Gratow blinked a few times, both were silent. In the next moment, she also stood up. She, because she quite dreadfully, quite urgently and above all, quite alone behind a closed door, needed to cough. And he, because he only had in mind to check on the temperature in the refrigerator. It was only now that he noticed that her hair had in fact become much grayer than his. Helmut, I'll take care of it. She assured him, you don't need to come along. And without wasting another word, she took off. They found themselves alone, so they found themselves alone in the dining room, and the egg that dared to still be soft. Herr Grötthrup und das Ei, das ich traute, noch weich zu sein. Please continue to remain seated. The story is not over yet. Take your left hand away from your head and pass the story from your right hand to your left. Next, slowly raise your right hand to your head and cover your right eye. You may now continue to read. Sometimes I would have been thinking, today I am going to be a liar. Admittedly, it doesn't have much to say about the story, but it's a little over the top. So I would like to take the microphone off, and then I will go home. I'm going to be a liar. So I will be a liar. I am going to be a liar. I am going to be a liar. I am going to be a liar. I am going to be a liar. Admittedly, it doesn't happen to me that often if it wants to be an egg after all. Not really round, not really stable, not really attractive. Much more often than I thought in the morning. Today I'm going to be crème brûlée, or a winning lottery ticket, or a sandwich. These things bring people joy at least, but today I just wanted to pass as something trivial. No big fuss, a bubble, no chaos. Just be an egg, stay on the safe side. I hadn't counted on actually being boiled at this time. The other times when I've chosen egg nests, I just stayed in the fridge the whole day. But yesterday, groatships only had one egg left, and Irmi remembered this so late in the evening that she didn't have time to go and buy some. I'm not going to be an egg after all. Not really round, not really stable, not really attractive. I thought a lot more often in the morning. Today I'm going to be crème brûlée, or a winning lottery ticket, or a sandwich. At least the people are happy about it. But today I just wanted to pass as something trivial. No big fuss, a bubble, no chaos. Just be an egg, stay on the safe side. I hadn't counted on actually being boiled at this time. Sometimes when I've chosen egg nests, I just stayed in the fridge the whole day. Groatships only had one egg left, and Irmi stayed in the fridge so late in the evening that she didn't have time to go and buy some. By the way, nobody among the living calls had Irmi. The last time she heard that name, she was still living at her parents' house, and she had just secretly started dating her boyfriend at the time. He'd called her that, and so had her grandmother. Since his retirement, Irmi's husband had only ever called her Mutti, and even though they didn't have any children, if this had at least been meant as a term of environment. Irmi had never been called by the living. The last time she heard that name, she was still living at her parents' house, and she had just started to secretly start dating her boyfriend at the time. He'd called her that, and so had her grandmother. Since his retirement, Irmi's husband had only ever called her Mutti, even though they didn't have any children, if this had at least been meant as a term of environment. Anyway, as she was praying in the early morning, Irmi remembered that Ada would come today. On Mondays and Thursday, this woman came to clean the Groatships' house, and on these particular days, she would begin so early that even I'm not sure if Irmi's husband knows that there is an Ada at all. Whatever the case, two eggs were indeed brought by Ada, wrapped in plenty of paper towels. Of course, normally, one egg would have been absolutely sufficient. But Ada had an inkling about what would happen at the breakfast table, and that's how I made it to the Groatships today. However, as she was praying in the early morning, Irmi remembered that Ada would come today. This woman always cleaned the Montages and Donnerstowns with her Groatships and Finger-Eyes. She would start so early on these particular days that even I'm not sure if Irmi's husband knows that there is an Ada. Two eggs were wrapped in paper towels wrapped in plenty of paper towels, and brought by Ada. Normally, one egg would have been completely sufficient. But Ada already had an idea of what would happen at the breakfast table, and that's how I made it to the Groatships today. I really judge the people I encounter. I always try to regard them in a way that lets me get at their true core. I've become pretty good at that, especially in Germany. But even beings like me have bad days now and again. All I wanted was to chill in the fridge, you know. And the way Irmi's husband was acting, I thought, I need to provoke that problem. I seldom judge people I encounter. I always try to regard them in a way that lets me get at their true core. That's what I'm good at now, especially in Germany. But even beings like me have bad days now and again. All I wanted was to chill in the fridge. And the way Irmi's husband was acting, I thought, I need to provoke that problem. So I decided I wouldn't become hard-bodied. So I decided I wouldn't become hard-bodied. My reasons for this decision were the kind of thing Irmi's husband would never have been able to understand. This isn't surprising. Already in the first great allocation, he'd been presented with nothing but his own kind of human body and the life of a mortal. This, by the way, is not meant to sound disparaging. I mean, I haven't even managed to achieve that much. Irmi had felt a little better than her husband back there, though. It had always been blessedly irrelevant to her whether the egg was boiled for seven minutes or 17. It wasn't even a question of whether her husband wanted the egg in one specific way or another. For him, something so ambiguous as very firm egg white and medium soft egg yolk, the kind that Irmi actually liked, was simply comparable. A breakfast egg was to be hard-bodied, pure. Still, it was clear to her that the argument this morning was not actually about the egg. Not about the waste of water that ensues when an egg is boiled too long or about the exploding electric bill. And that's why at some point, Irmi tuned out during her husband's lecture and just took the egg out of the water as we placed it. It may have come across as resignation. It was, in fact, a pragmatic, passionless act. She feared that the blunts, the growing feeling in her temples would later develop into a migraine which wouldn't be frustrating since she'd wanted to finally go shopping for an egg boiler this afternoon. It wasn't worth all this kind of discussion. My reason for this disappointment Irmi's husband had never been able to do anything about it. That's not surprising because he had, after all, his kind of human body and a sterile life at the first big exhibition. That's, by the way, not at all dissatisfied at all. I didn't even manage to do that. Irmi cut off something better than her husband so that he really didn't care whether the egg cooked for 7 or 17 minutes. It wasn't just about the fact that her husband wanted the egg to be special. Something unambiguous like very solid egg white that Irmi actually likes from the bottom of her heart. The egg of breakfast should be hearty. Period. At the same time, it's clear that it wasn't really about the egg this morning or about the water consumption that goes into it when an egg cooks for a long time or the unnecessary and that's why Irmi switched during the day to eat something and just took his egg as desired from the water. That might seem like a sign. In fact, it was an unambiguous, pragmatic act. She was afraid that the waking, dark feeling in the snakes would later develop into cranes which would be annoying because she wanted to look at an egg cook today. Unambiguous discussions were not worth it. Irmi would theoretically have had the option to get a detailed description for my decision from Ada. She squandered her chance by acquiescing to the thought that with her new reading glasses she was simply better able to read the other clock than her husband could. Besides, Irmi spoke very little with Ada, she didn't even know that Ada spoke German fluently by now so a whole host of information alluded to her and as a result her husband almost always maintained the upper hand. Irmi had theoretically the possibility of getting a detailed description for my decision from her and also the fact that her husband also had the option to get a detailed description for my decision because she didn't know that Ada spoke German fluently and as a result she was able to read the other clock and as a result she was able to read the other clock and as a result she was able always so. In their first life together, Irmi was the one who not only wore the pants, but the whole suit, including Fedora and Kane. It was not, for instance, he, but Irmi, who had met and negotiated with the Russians, right after the unconditional capitalization of the Verma. Right after Irmi's husband appeared in the hallway, stuttering, gazing in all four cardinal directions, even right through Irmi, but not looking her directly in the eyes. Right after both of the children, remembering the first location there was a son and a daughter, had found Irmi's next look. In the first life together, Irmi was the one who not only wore the pants, but the whole suit, including Fedora, Kut and G. Stock. It was, for instance, not just he, but Irmi, who had met and negotiated with the Russians at that time. Right after the unconditional capitalization of the Verma. Right after Irmi's husband stuttered in the hallway, the whole suit, including Fedora, Kut and G., stuttering, gazing in all four cardinal directions, even right through Irmi, but not looking her directly in the face. Right after the two children, in the first distribution, there was a son and a daughter, who had found Irmi's lipstick. Unfortunate. Oh, that was her favorite lipstick. Favorite lipstick? That was her only lipstick. Her only lipstick? Really unfortunate. Oh. Ungünstig. Oh, das war ihr Lieblingslippenstift. Lieblingslippenstift? Das war ihr einziger Lippenstift. Ihr einziger Lippenstift? Wirklich. Sehr ungünstig. Oh. Little Peter was already standing in the shade on the corner. He couldn't quite cross his little arm, so despite making a good effort at it, he looked more tortured than angry. The younger daughter grinned at her father with her lusciously painted lips and teeth, while Irmi scolded her husband mercilessly. The stairs are to be swept from the top down, she hissed at one point, and shoved a toddler-filled dye into his arms. That same day, she got serious about demanding her first meeting with Serge Gale Pavlovich Koroyo, a sort of Russian verga von Braun. In fact, each and every Grotterup survived the first four years because they were brought to the Soviet Union by Koroyo himself. Nobody in the Grotterup household speaks of this anymore, yet on this day, I was Irmi's last lipstick. And I still vividly remember how much relief was felt when Irmi's husband learned that he wouldn't have to choose between his career in rocket engineering and his family as more than a few of his colleagues had been forced to do. He had Irmi alone to thank for that, but he didn't know that anymore. Since the second Great Elevation, a remarkably high number of people of his sort fared that way. The little feather was now ready in a gentle corner. His short arms didn't make it to each other, so he saw that, although he had given himself a lot of effort, as a trainee, the little girl smudged the father with fat-skinned lips and teeth while Irmi was merciless with her bare hands. The stairs were rolled up from the top, and at the same time pushed Irmi into her arms. On the same day, she reached out to a serious meeting with Sergei Pavlovich Koroyo, a Russian Werner of Braum. In fact, all Grotups survived the year after the war, because they were brought to the Soviet Union by Koroyo himself. Today, Grotup is no longer alive. However, one day, I was the last member of Irmi, and I still remember exactly how great the relief was when Irmi's husband realized that he didn't have to choose between a rocket and a family, like some of his colleagues. He had to thank Irmi alone. However, it was no longer necessary. Since the Second Great Distance, many people of his kind are also part of it. It's quite a bit more difficult for me to stand the fact that you living beings communicate exclusively by means of this prison-court language. Oh! Humans are not categories! They are not all there! Oh! They are not all there! Oh! They are not all there! So whenever I become something written, I attempt, mostly in vain, to ignore all the content. And in your year 1862, I was busy as an epicenter of an earthquake in a cramp. That was hard. I really had to pull myself together to not just stop after destroying those European fortresses, it wasn't supposed to look like the wrath of God, just, you know, like a so-called natural disaster. So whenever I become something written, I attempt, mostly in vain, to ignore all the content. So whenever I become something written, I attempt, mostly in vain, to ignore all the content. And in your year 1862, I was busy as an epicenter of an earthquake in a cramp. That was hard. I really had to pull myself together to not just stop after destroying those European fortresses. It wasn't supposed to look like the wrath of God, but rather like a so-called natural disaster. So whenever I become something written, I attempt, mostly in vain, to ignore all the content. And in your year 1862, I was busy as an epicenter of an earthquake in a cramp. And in your year 1862, I was busy as an epicenter of an earthquake in a cramp. And in your year 1862, I was busy as an epicenter of an earthquake in a cramp. And in your year 1862, I was busy as an epicenter of an earthquake in a cramp. As Helmut Kohl, the German Bundestag, was there for the fourth time, I would like to be in a strategic moment, suddenly worked hard, so that he would be proud on the way to the protest, maybe also have to go. Running TV cameras. This look would have done me good. But it shouldn't have been this time, to be honest, it is completely forbidden for me. But in any case, I will once again be an important, red carpet, and in exactly 20 years, will be another political victim of my unison. It will be Robert O'Garber, if nothing comes between it, and we will find ourselves in Harabe. We are at the conference. The third great allocation is coming up. Today is the day that it will dawn on Yemi and her husband. I've been hoping that I'll finally also get to be born today, but my plan with the Agnes didn't quite plan out. Now that I've been so impatient and dogmatic with Yemi's husband, I already know it's highly unlikely this time around. I know because there are still no pictures. We are at the conference. The third great allocation is coming up. Today is the day that Yemi and her husband will become aware. I've been hoping that I'll finally get to be born today, but my plan with the Agnes didn't quite plan out. Because I've been so impatient and dogmatic with Yemi's husband. And now I know that nothing will happen again this time around. I know that there will still be no pictures. That's the difference between the unborn and the deceased. Even if the deceased themselves aren't discernible in the images, drawings, or narratives, they are consoled by the fact that the life of their loved ones goes on. The dead have images. Those who've never lived are still in waiting. That's the difference between the unborn and the deceased. Even if the deceased themselves aren't discernible in the photos, drawings, or narratives, they are consoled by the fact that the life of their loved ones goes on. The dead have images. Those who've never lived are still in waiting. Please remove your right hand from your head. You may, if you like, hold the story with both hands now. But the idea that an egg might possibly have its own thoughts and preferences, Karkotov could only shake his head involuntarily. What nonsense. He briefly contemplated reducing the idea to absurdity by fixating one of his own thoughts and preferences. He briefly contemplated reducing the idea to absurdity by fixating on it for a few seconds, after which he cleared his throat as if to start a one-sided conversation with. But right then, Ilmy entered the dining room with his second egg. Without any further ado, the couple could have given the start of breakfast a second go, as though the first attempt hadn't happened, as though the clocks were just now striking half past seven. But Hagrutov, with his no longer quite so pristine tie, could not stand the situation any longer. He excused himself, reassuring Ilmy while leaving the room that he would return shortly. And before Ilmy could even catch her breath, Hagrutov was in the upstairs bathroom, the second big surprise of the day. The stranger was already standing there, sorting the laundry. He avoided her eyes. If he had looked even just for a second, he would have had to admit how strangely they all worked. With the thought that he could possibly have his own ideas and preferences, Hagrutov had to open up his head for a moment, almost for a moment. He thought about the thought of leading Sordor, in which he fixed a few seconds, and then decided to start a one-sided conversation with him. At the very moment Ilmy came into the room with his second eye. The couple could have at least once started with the breakfast, as though they would not have given him the first breath. So the clocks would have only now struck half past seven. However, Hagrutov, with his no longer quite so pristine tie, could not stand the situation any longer. In the meantime, Ilmy had no choice but to leave the room, and had to go back to his room. The second big surprise of the day. A stranger was already standing there, sorting the laundry. He avoided her eyes. If he had looked even just for a second, he would have had to admit how strangely they all worked. If only he could not have seen clearly, he would have had to admit how strangely he was. Who are you, Hagrutov? I am the other. She answered as though there was nothing more normal in the world than her holding his underwear as they introduced themselves. Ada, he responded, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Ada, he offered to stand on his forehead. I am your husband. So we're giving gifts for maladies? Sorry, you started it. She answered as though there was nothing more normal in the world than her holding his underwear as they introduced themselves. Ada, he responded, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He started it. She had done it on the phone. Fair enough, Hagrutov now had multiple problems at once. To get himself out of this difficulty, he extended his hand. He'd actually been intending to introduce himself. Ada though took this as an inspection, as though he reached out his hand to examine his underwear. Had Hagrutov just looked at Ada properly, as one ought to, he might have avoided shaking her hand with his undies between their fingers. But then again, maybe not. Probably not. Hagrutov now had multiple problems at once. To get himself out of this difficulty, he extended his hand. He actually wanted to introduce himself. Ada though took this as an inspection, he wanted to find his underwear. Had Hagrutov just looked at Ada properly, as one ought to, he might have avoided shaking her hand with his undies between their fingers. Maybe not. All those who underestimate Ada regret it eventually. All those who underestimate Ada regret it eventually. Back in the living room, he saw Ilmy sitting at the table waiting for him. She didn't ask any questions and this was a good thing. Back in the living room, he saw Ilmy sitting at the table and waiting for him. She didn't ask any questions and this was a good thing. Hagrutov sat down. Hagrutov sat down. And Ada started to clean the toilet in the bathroom upstairs. The other thing, I'm the toilet in all the dishes. Let's talk about it. Who's got something to say? You want to take a breather? Can I tell a little anecdote, just really briefly, and you'll know that I'm German, and if I get to the end of it, on Thursday, I decided, so I have an egg blower. And yesterday, I always took my boiled eggs to lunch with me. Yesterday, I decided to actually take them the way you described, the way Ilmy likes them. So lunch with me. So I changed the way I used the egg blower and so today, I tried the eggs for the first time and I was thinking a lot about these eggs during the day, I guess, because now that you've started that story, I was just sitting there and thinking, wow, oh goodness. So much of this sounds very familiar, even though it's happening to some, but there's something so... I don't know, the whole egg business, I kept thinking about so many Sunday morning conversations with my parents about fried boiled and soft boiled eggs and I see people nodding. And then you caught me completely off guard when the eggs started to be talking and I was narrating and... Can you tell us more about the unusual narrative? Are we even allowed to know more about them, maybe? Oh, the short answer would be no, wouldn't it? Well, partly it's difficult for me to answer the question because I wrote it a long time ago, actually, the main point was to describe this married couple and how easy it was for them to be jolted out of their routine by something unusual happening. That was actually the main point in a way. And then when I won the competition, I now have a really great opportunity to develop the story into a full-length novel. So now I have to come up with an answer to your question. And I'm thinking about it. It's something to do with different perspectives and people being set in their ways and whether they're able to allow for change and what would that feel like to change because I'm settling and scary. That kind of thing I'm going to explore. A question about content. We're currently now in two languages and I thought he called Yonni and Witty because they had no children. But then there were children suddenly. So that's had something to do with how it came to be that I was writing the story. When I first came up with the name Grotto, I had googled him and only found out about him and this woman. The Grotto really did live back in Nazi Germany and so on. And so I started to write the story and I've written this line before Samuti even though they don't have children. And then I found out later through the Wikipedia article if I read it earlier I wouldn't have written that but they did actually have children and then I was a bit frustrated because I wanted to keep the line because I found the line so good. So then I came up with this concept of the Fatale which is something that is really difficult for me to describe the Fatale because I haven't pulled it through to the end but roll with me. It's something like the idea that we all get a second and a third chance. So in the first Fatale, the cards we are dealt let's say the marriage couple did have children and then they lived through what has really happened. This story is however set in the second Fatale and in that allocation they didn't get children so that's why there's this discrepancy between the first and the second. It's an artistic debate. Is there any reason why you make her group trip 78 years old was there anything good? Yeah, there is. What was the reason again? I had started to write it before I really did the maths. So he was born in 1916 and he died in 1981. He didn't make it to become that old actually. But the story is set in 1994 so that's partly to demonstrate really clearly that this is not about a biography of facts that actually happened with all the fantasy. So again in the first Fatale, he died in 1981 in the second Fatale, he lives to see how cold becoming the force on this peninsula. And we'll see what happens from there. I don't know yet. I've been reading your story for quite some time now. I do different classes. I've come up with all these ideas and now I've completely thrown off by the snikes. All my ideas are changed now. But I'm wondering, I thought a lot about it but what does that represent in the story and for you at least? I have my idea. I would love to hear your idea before I answer them. My idea of Adelaide is that she was this idea of a climate that's something different coming into the home and not only breaking up that routine but symbolizing some sort of... He represents this German man who's so proud of his heritage. And I understood Adelaide as a foreigner coming out of the house without me knowing if he was coming into Germany without him knowing that she was there. And I kind of understood what's coming out of the climate. Which is a valid interpretation and I agree with it. And then bearing in mind what I've said about the allocation for the Ptilon, I was trying to play with the idea of the Grottrups having to be told go back to gold. They've got to go back to the start again because there's a lesson that they didn't learn which is why they're about to go for it the third time. And the egg is a figure that I've put in to show the reader that it's not my intention to put myself in Barthagrotrups. I'm not pointing my finger at them or such. And that's why the egg hasn't even made it to start the game yet. Because the egg is a loser. And then Adelaide is actually a figure who's already made it through and is finished and waiting for everyone to catch up. Adelaide is a figure who has the most oversight of all. And Adelaide is something like an activity or maybe in the Grottrups life if they took the time to notice her and look at her properly and speak to her properly then they would find out what they needed to know perhaps to get through the game. But yeah, for whatever reason they choose not to do that. So that's kind of a statement about how I feel there to debate on migration happening to Germany or maybe even in German-speaking countries that the people who are being discussed are rarely being addressed and talked with and asked for their expertise and their knowledge. And one final thing I wanted to add was when I write I often show my work to people and get their feedback. I show it to many people I rely on people's feedback for their impression about language and imagery and so on, what it does to them. And one of the people I showed the story to the black Austrian woman and she told me that she didn't like the end of the story because the last line is she started to clean the toilet and she found out that an anti-climax. So I did think a lot about whether I could change that and for a while I added the last word apparently something like that to make it a bit more open but actually I decided to take that out and leave it as clear as it is. I'm usually more ambiguous about such things but in this case I felt I had already given enough hints in the story that I do as a figure we should take more seriously and if people get to the end of the story when you think of it as a toilet cleaner then that's not my responsibility go for it. I was thinking about people like the so-called guest workers and I wanted to really pay homage to them in that last sentence so that's why it's like that it helps with people I don't want to miss anyone Yesterday there was a question about Ada and I wondered a little bit about the discussion about how to interpret her I think we have to have a little bit of focus on how much she was in control of the story and at one point I was thinking I wonder if that sounds like you if you are hiding behind that you know and then the last remark actually changed my own perspective a little bit more because I felt like there's a process of cleaning and wherever it's cleaning there's a charge on everyone else it's like the man has to learn how to sweep the staircase he has to be told what to do so it's a kind of reversal of all hierarchies those who are on top clean and clean the dirt down and good troops are at the bottom and the dirt sort of comes onto them anyway, down toilet Maybe we should write this together What happened? Anyway, I don't see myself as Ada although I see okay this is a little bit complicated I did originally write the story as a description of whiteness and whitenailness specifically German whitenailness but my bigger point was more to talk about what it's like to be completely secure in your own identity and never have to question your surrounding and although I don't have it with regards to race and I don't have it with regards to gender I do have it with regards to sexuality or nationality and so on so I never feel threatened in my identity as a British woman walking through Germany and there are people who don't have a British passport or a European passport when they see police in the area then they do feel really anxious so I wanted to describe this feeling of being secure everything being measured and you can see how it's going to follow through from one step to the next logically, that's the figure that's now hair crotchook and then the figure frau crotchook experiences some kind of marginalisation therefore it's more flexible doesn't matter if the egg is in the way she likes it but even frau crotchook underestimates the figure of Ada so I just wanted to show these different kinds of intersectionalities and I consider myself to be actually, to be honest more of a hair crotchook I like the living now by a proficient soul so as a translator I'd like to congratulate the translators I want to hear about your experience in the translation process and I'd like to think as a protagonist in translation where the translator can be is or see himself because that's how I feel when I've had to translate and I have to do something okay well I think the business of translation is something like working miracles I have to say that I've decided I will never translate again because it's not very good at it people often have when I first won the prize everything, all the press information was in German of course and my family back in London when I, oh well that's Sharon what she done, what happened I was hoping upon hope that somebody would write an article in the Guardian it finally appeared and something appeared in English and Deutsche Welle but they still didn't know what was going on in this story and especially my brother and sister were both monolingual and I remember once my brother said to me what's so difficult about translation you just get out a dictionary and you put one there and I was like no it doesn't work that way so they both didn't, they thought it was being a bit mean when I said I wasn't going to translate it but it was really important to me that there was an English version and then I got this tweet hey Sharon is there an English version of your story and if not can we do it and I was like yeah that was so exciting and now I've got a conversation going on somebody has asked me what do I think of the translation is it written in the way that I would have written the story if I'd written the story in English and I said I wouldn't have written the story in English you understand what I mean for me it's an impossible story to write in English I came to the story with an image of this guy and I don't know how I would express the Dutzen and Zitzen and this kind of thing Dutzen is the informal way of addressing the Zitzen or the formal way of addressing each other actually I think it does exist a bit in the US because we have the man and the sir which we haven't had in the UK so much but anyway that's on the side I wouldn't have known how to do it I made some very specific cultural references that I think Germans get straight away I think if I was writing a story which I wanted to convey the whiteness in England I would have chosen a completely different married couple a completely different challenge not the egg so when David told me that you did in Patrick World prepared to take on this challenge I was totally, totally grateful and I think they did a brilliant job did you interact with them as they were translating because when I asked my question it wasn't so much about the product but maybe the process if there had been one I would very much like to welcome you to the stage to talk about the process please okay can you give me a start well I'm particularly interested in first question was there interaction during the process yes there was there was a Google Doc which should be probably an article in itself at this point absolutely but we translated it first before we sent it so it wasn't somebody put it in a word and then another person put it in a word it was done and then the comments we actually allocated the text so my heart was depressed to have to do it at the second part and we worked together there was communication between the two of us which you're coicing because it has to how long have the three of you been collaborating like Sharon were you involved from the very beginning in the translation did you I came to be translation is an active interpretation which is another reason why I didn't want to do it myself because I had written the text and in parts it's deliberately ambiguous and if I had translated it myself I would have fixed it down a little bit more and I didn't want to do that and I had said to the three of you very early on this is your translation I'll give you my feedback and I'll tell you I think this might sound I'll point that out but apart from that I'm really happy for you to make up the story what you wrote how was that that experience how did you experience that positioning which is a particular one I translated our first the side on that well first of all it's always a great honor to actually get to work with the author because many of you have done anything to do with that so that's always great of course you have to live back in your mind it was like a piano but like in general it was very challenging and that was I would say mostly because of the cultural references like how do you translate and then you do the research and you look it up and you say oh there's actually a British company that makes these things and for everybody who doesn't know there's like a little dark figure that some Germans put in the back of their cars that kind of nods along but it's not a bobble head it is still different but it has become this pop culture icon it was a huge deal in the 90s along with the door I had in the back of the car so it just goes on and on and that's just one word and then of course this is just one let's say a list of things there's hundreds of tones that you really need to try to get and also make the university accessible I guess we should also mention that we translated into American English and then the first comments were differences between British and American English so something like in the beginning I think or maybe maybe half of you are exactly sure where this is but there's point in German which is period in American English but full stop in British English and I first got that comment so there were some things like that too that were yeah that just kind of came up in that and also an answer to my life's question which is Sharon was kind to allow me to share the English translation with one of my classes and as I was taking the translation that you and Patrick had done and I saw all the kind of comments in the column you know how you add comments into a word document and there's these bubbles where it's a conversation between various writers and people and it's in this construction process and first of all my hunch was oh I'm supposed to erase all those things before I give this text as a unified stable thing to my students who are kind of outsiders to the process and then I thought to myself why would I ever do that why not actually share with our students the kinds of conversations between authors and translator I mean I was careful to choose word to check with them and to look at it but it was really interesting to consider some of those conversations between author and translator and editors as part of the text itself or part of this kind of process which isn't just a product but it's also a set of relations you know relationships and friendships and trust and hope and all of those things and so keeping some of those margin comments there and allowing that to be something that our students also got the chance to read was really it was wonderful but it was also a way of entrusting the process to others to kind of engagement as well so that's what I mean makes the prison a little more livable we're still translating a little bit so yesterday we were talking about the text and there was one particular word that we all started talking about which I translated as dogmatic and now I'm unhappy with it but I don't have a solution what? self-righteous yeah it's I thought about that too but I'm not happy with that either so and now I have a very typical translator world egg translator question you spoke of kilograms and then feet with that the combination decision and how why? it is I guess a matter of accessibility like okay this is a passage where I mean you don't even get that the exact height of the protagonist or something and yeah you're creating a mental image in that moment and then you kind of have to make a decision okay how do I want to create this because you're really setting up this image for the rest of the story honestly I can't quite remember right now why I chose one of the other I think it was a bit of organizing so it makes sense to also make an American audience how much is a meter let it up with the sub I don't care for the kilograms or whatever I wanted to say something about that so when I wrote it I wrote 1 meter 83 and I wanted 1 meter 83 to sound so completely measured to the millimeter and then when the translation first came back it was 6 feet how boring is that and then I was like is it true and I really considered changing the German so that's good and then I suggested putting exactly 6 feet so that's one of those things that happened yeah thank you should we take one more question the interpretation that hearing you read it really strongly you don't get childhood and I don't know if that's a question or not but the fact that birth kind of like intrudes upon life and kind of makes a kind of heighten out of the little rules and everything that really struck me constantly throughout the whole thing especially at the end where if you just look at it in the eyes really strongly both like senior child and it's just a really strong impression of course as I was just going to the experience of being together doing this it never occurred to me that at some point during our meeting that I was going to think about whether I was supposed to be speaking to you as well and whether I was supposed to be looking over for us there's also a process of becoming to me I would like to thank everybody for starting off their week with us and our co-sponsors for German studies, for my French and Italian I'd like to thank our translators Judith Menzel and Patrick Buschinski and Sharon for coming so far to be with us and to share a Monday evening with us I am going to adjourn to that table with books so if anybody would like to buy a book I will be there I'm cashed for but I will try to do as best as I can to change $10 to $15 on this lighting scale and then please feel free to chat with Sharon Dotto a little bit more and it's really, really wonderful what you all are able to come out for this evening so thanks everyone