A collective reading of Schernikau’s SMALLTOWNNOVELLA

A classic of the queer German canon, Schernikau’s 1980 novella follows b, a teenage, working-class communist who falls in love with leif, a popular jock. When leif becomes fearful of the consequences of their affair, he instigates a community-wide assault. Written in a brilliant, all-lowercase, stream-of-consciousness, SMALLTOWNNOVELLA is a radical reimagining of the German Bildungsroman.

Translated for the first time into English by Lucy Jones, with an afterword by Ben Miller.

Hosted by Ben Miller, with readings by:

Rebecca Rukeyser

Judy Moore

Olympia Bukkakis