Am I Afraid?

Maruša Krese (1947–2013) was a Slovenian poet, writer and one of the most important intercultural mediators between the German and Slovenian cultural spaces. She studied art history and psychotherapy and lived in Tübingen and Berlin, among other places. She received the Fabula Award for her collection Vsi moji božiči (All my Christmases), and the Kritiško sito award for her novel. For her self-sacrificing humanitarian work during the war in Bosnia, she received the German state award. In the form of a two-part or three-part dialogue her novel Da me je strah (Am I afraid?) presents the story of her parents, who were partisans and national heroes. She critically describes the post-war years in socialist Yugoslavia and, as always, she remains completely honest in her writing. Her son and film director Jakob Krese, manager of the S. Fischer Stiftung Antje Contius, will speak about Maruša and her novel. The conversation, which will be held in German, will be hosted by the poet Ilma Rakusa.