The Latest at Goethe

Great day in Weimar: Three men of letters will be awarded the Goethe Medal. But, how does one find the most deserving awardees? The distinction is preceded by a long process. Jury chair Christina von Braun talks about criteria, dilemmas and the people who work outside the spotlight.

On 28 August, the Goethe Medal will be awarded in Weimar. You, as the chairwoman of the conferment commission, helped to choose the three awardees. Was the decision a difficult one?

Von Braun: Yes, it’s never an easy one. After all, candidates are suggested to us from many countries – very different people that can hardly be compared with one another. Someone living in South America might have an entirely different weight for exporting the German language, say, than someone in Romania. And then the commission is always in a dilemma: on the one hand, we might like to have a top name, a great writer, but on the other hand we want to honour those who work outside the spotlight as well. That applies to many translators, for instance. In addition, in recent years we have made a point of not always awarding candidates from the same countries.

Does it happen that there are candidates among the proposals that you’ve never heard of before?

Of course. The commission is made up of many quite prestigious academics, writers, theatre people. But all of us were unfamiliar with some of the names. In these cases we have to first take a closer look at that person’s biography. Luckily, through the Goethe-Institut we have this large network of experts who know the cultural scenes on location very well and whose judgement we can rely upon as well.

Gallery of honour: A portrait of the Goethe Medal awardees

How many proposals did you have to consider?

At the beginning, there were thirty names, which we then narrowed down to a core selection of twelve.

Who submits them to you?

Most of the proposals come from the Goethe-Instituts around the world. However, jury members may also propose someone.

What is a jury meeting like? Are there arguments?

The discussion is, of course, quite intense. And near the end, once the names are competing with one another, it gets more and more intense. You have your favourite candidate and another member of the jury may have other favourites; so you have to keep finding new reasons that speak for your own candidate.

In the end, does the decision have to be unanimous?

We do vote and ultimately it’s a majority decision. Yet before that there is a long debate. And it is astonishing how often we then reach a consensus; how often jury members are convinced by the better arguments.

This year, the jury chose Sverre Dahl, Lars Gustafsson and Victor Marian Scoradet. What tipped the scales?

Gustafsson is a famous, world-renowned writer and also a philosopher. He has been in Germany frequently, is close friends with German writers and is a member of the Academy of the Arts. These close relationships may not show up in his novels, but indirectly he has imported a great deal to Sweden through his influence on cultural life. As for Sverre Dahl, there was no debate about him at all, he is a great translator. He has translated 120 books into Norwegian. The spectrum of these works ranges from Goethe and Novalis to very modern literature such as Thomas Bernhard and Daniel Kehlmann. This Medal was long overdue. Scoradet has worked very, very hard to get German plays performed in Romania – more than in any other country. He also translated many plays.

This year, it seems that the awards lean a great deal to literature. Is that a coincidence?

It’s not always the case, but naturally, German exports are mainly via literature. Philosophy and art also play an important role, but the written word is strongest. The Medal is also specifically an honour for exporting both Germany culture and the German language.

The number of awardees per year has receded in recent years. Yet one still has the impression that the decision was a tough one. Shouldn’t it be reduced to one awardee – the best? There’s only one Nobel prize for literature.

If the number of awardees is too high, of course the value of the Medal is lessened slightly. It’s inflationary. That is why we have set the limit to three. It also could have been one individual, but I wouldn’t want to require that. Every year we debate anew about it, but a ‘list of one’ would lead to the award also being given to a famous person. Those who specifically ought to be awarded because they do great work behind the scenes that is not perceived by the public eye, they would all fall between the cracks. Scoradet, for instance, is highly unknown in Germany, but this will make him better known. Three is a good number, especially if we set three different focuses.

Why do famous people play such a role? The Goethe-Institut very much likes to remember the famous awardees of the past: Billy Wilder, George Tabori, Karl Popper...

It’s really a problem. A jury may attempt to make itself important through the significant people that it honours. An award has a special weight when great names are linked to it. This also is accompanied by the risk that one award leads to the next and that the usual suspects are always honoured. We can avoid this risk by dividing the award among three people.

What significance does the Goethe Medal have in the German cultural landscape – among all the awards out there?

First and foremost, it has great significance for the Goethe-Institut. It is the only event in Germany that honours some of our partners abroad. Considering that this Medal does not involve a single penny, it’s amazing that everyone who has been awarded the Medal so far has also accepted it. And there were some very famous names among them.

One of them was Daniel Barenboim, who received the Medal two years ago. Yet he didn’t appear at the award ceremony. Is that painful?

Yes, it was painful. Naturally, we understood that Mr. Barenboim has a busy schedule that is set two years in advance. In the meantime, we try to make sure that we award the Medal to those who then have time to come to Weimar.

The Medal is not linked to money. Isn’t that a drawback?

Certainly, it would be nice if we could support the work of the awardees with prize money – especially in the case of the translators, who are often not well paid for their work. But, unfortunately, the Goethe-Institut doesn’t have the budget for it. Any money we would spend on it would be lacking for the work of the Goethe-Institut somewhere else. Yet, it is a sign that the award is so highly perceived even without money. Perhaps a monetary award would somewhat diminish the honour as such.

This year, the Medal is being awarded for the first time in the month of August. Why?

Until now, we have always awarded the Medal on the anniversary of Goethe’s death in March, when Weimar is cold and often covered in snow. We’ve now set it on Goethe’s birthday in late August. That time of year Weimar is at the centre of attention because of the festival. In addition, the anniversary of a death is not nearly as appealing as a birthday.