Chemnitz author Hans Brinkmann has just returned from a four-week spell as writer-in-residence in the Finnish town of Tampere. He stayed in our twin city at the invitation of Tampere’s German Cultural Centre and the Goethe Institut Finland.
Chemnitz and Tampere have more in common than their long-established twinning arrangement which began in 1961, with both cities currently bidding to be named European Capital of Culture, Chemnitz in 2025 and Tampere in 2026. It was against this backdrop that the choice was made for this year’s writer-in-residence. Every autumn, a German-language author traditionally enjoys a month-long spell in Tampere as writer-in-residence, receiving both financial and creative support from Tampere’s Cultural Department, the town’s German Cultural Centre and the Goethe Institut Finland.
Hans Brinkmann was selected by a panel after responding to a call for applications by the Chemnitz Cultural Advisory Council and Department of Culture. Brinkmann has been part of the literary scene for more than 30 years, primarily as a poet and storyteller, but also as an art and cultural critic, and his renown extends well beyond Chemnitz. He has published a number of works, including his poetry collection Schlummernde Hunde (2006) and his novel Die Butter vom Brot (2011). His most recent work is Die Unheit.Gedichte published by Eichenspinner Verlag, Chemnitz/Bielefeld.
During his residency, Hans Brinkmann wrote several blog posts that were translated into Finnish and published on the Tampere German Cultural Centre website. The residency programme also involved public appearances. Brinkmann was able to showcase his own works at readings held at the Helsinki book fair, at a Hans Brinkman evening at Tampere University and at the Day of Finnish Literature event at the Pukstaavi Museum of the Finnish Book in Sastamala, where some of his works were performed in Finnish and Japanese.