TEXT MATTERS. MATTERS OF TEXT 2026

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Participatory Stage Discussion: Monika Rinck × Astrid Seme

Monika Rinck (b. 1969), a poet, essayist, and translator, is a professor of creative writing at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne. In “Höllenfahrt & Entenstaat” (2024), she explores the burdens of our world in the light of a German frenzy that is not merely metaphorical.

Astrid Seme (* 1985), a graphic designer, co-directs the Vienna-based publishing house Mark Pezinger Books with Thomas Geiger, creates artist books, and conducts research on the acoustic dimension of typography. This has resulted in hybrid works such as “Urbirds singing the Sonata” or “A Book for all Readers.”

The KLINGSPOR MUSEUM explores the linguistic and cultural multilingualism of our time through an analog aesthetic. With more than 80,000 artist books, posters, tapestries, and calligraphic works, it serves as a living archive representing “matters of text.”

PRÄPOSITION was born as a literary space on the internet and today seeks a multimedia, anti-capitalist presentation of text and language. Its non-profit commitment, as well as the commitment of the OFFENBACH UNIVERSITY OF ART AND DESIGN as a learning space for transdisciplinary artistic and design work, form the enduring imperative that brings this festival to life for the third time: text matters.