Jan Decker

General Information 1977 born in Kassel Deutsches Literaturinstitut Leipzig (DLL) Living as an author and dramatist in

Osnabrück Gave lessons at the university of Osnabrück

and at the college for design Member of the PEN – Center Germany Numerous radio plays and features as well as

awards

Literary genre and examples Features

„Linkshänder sein“ (being left-handed) „Mein digitales Ich“ (my digital me)

Radio play „Blackbox“ „Die große Weltreise“ (the big world trip)

Books „Der Abdecker“ (the skinner) „Sibiu Blues“

Essays „Rauch und Wahn“ (smoke and mania) „Ungarische Zustände“ (hungarian conditions)

Prose „Ein Gang zu viel, immer!“ (one walk to many,

always) „Schriftstellerdämmerung“ (author‘s twilight)

Libretti „Japanische Miniaturen“ (japanese miniatures)

Plays „Rückenschwimmer“ (back-stroke swimmer) „Kassensturz!“ (cash check)

Articles „Papierkrieger“ (paper warrier) „Wie kann ich Osnabrück hören?“ (How can I hear

Osnabrück?) Poetry

„Leipziger Sonette“ „brutus“ and others…

Summary - Vogelkunde Walter Lembeck hears birdsongs He says in the breeding season, the birds

are louder than usual He thinks about his neibour Miss Sperling.

She says, if birds protect their turf, it‘s like a „Nuttensarafi“ (hookers-safari)

Mr. Lembeck listens to the noise Miss Sperling sweeps the balcony. She says to

Walter Lembeck „Oh look there, Mister Lembeck makes „Nuttensafari“ “

Mister Lembeck sees the cat of Miss Lembeck. He kicks the cat on the street. Cars brake, but Mister Lembeck sees only the birds.

He says, the birds imitate the noise of the people

The blue tit flies around the houses Other people see the bird also, Mister

Lembeck is not alone Suddently, a truck comes.

Mister Lembeck jumps aside and the birds fly back. The driver gumbles

Walter Lembeck walks past a furniture Store He sees Miss Sperling. She buys a sofa. She

always buys furniture. But Mister Lembeck only hears

birdsongs Now, it is October. The birds are gone. Until next year, Mister Lembeck lies

motionless in his house

Questions and Answers Where did you wrote the story?

In the center of Leipzig Are you a nature observer

Yes, I love nature Is Miss Sperling a woman or a bird?

She is a woman How would you explain the word

„Nuttensafari“? The story takes place in a Berlin

neighbourhood

„Smoke and Illusion“ („Rauch und Wahn“)

Dialog between Dr. Landy (real living person) and Jan Decker

Jan Decker is an European - author and he is a chain smoker

He thinks that smoking helps in his writing Dr. Landy is an American - therapist, who tries to

help Jan Decker Jan Decker has his own method, he wants to write

a noval about his problem, he publishes the conversation

Finally, Dr. Landy wants to smoke, because he wants to be an author

„Literature and Democracy“ („Literatur und Demokratie“) The author tries to describe the problem of

writing poems or other kinds of literature on politicians, e. g. Jean – Claude Juncker or Kim Jong Un

The text shows the difficulty to combine literature and politics and the tiny attention normal citizens pay to the one as well as to the other

Finally it raises the question in how far politicians should support every kind of literature , whether they like it or not

Our opinion We found him interesting A little bit strange Kind of cool Very intellectual