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Franz Kafka
 100 years after his death

Being Kafka Illustration by Roberto Majan

Why does Franz Kafka’s spell remain unbroken a hundred years after his death? Why do we still perceive Kafka as so modern and contemporary? Because Kafka wrote such beautiful letters? Because we love drama queens? Because we feel that the world has never been more Kafkaesque than it is today? Join us as we step into Kafka’s world! Be Kafka!

Being Kafka

Nicolas Mahler

Draw Kafka for me

Nicolas Mahler is a comic illustrator whose book “Komplett Kafka” (Completely Kafka) is published in Kafka’s centenary year, and it will tour as an exhibition. Ulrich Fügener spoke with Nicolas Mahler – about comics, Kafka, humour and melancholy.

Self-portrait of Nicolas Mahler at his desk © Nicolas Mahler, Suhrkamp Verlag © Nicolas Mahler, Suhrkamp Verlag

Kafka and TikTok

Why is everyone so obsessed with Franz Kafka?

The Czech writer died nearly a century ago, but is enjoying a renaissance on TikTok and X.

Why is everyone so obsessed with Franz Kafka? © Danny Howe / Unsplash © Danny Howe / Unsplash

Early pop culture

Kafka, the Cinephile

At the beginning of the 20th century, cinema was new and sensational – Franz Kafka was fascinated by it. There are numerous mentions of what Kafka had seen at the movies.

A sensation at the beginning of the 20th century: a visit to the cinema © Noom Peerapong / Unsplash © Noom Peerapong / Unsplash

Tomáš Moravec

Whom does Franz Kafka belong to?

The question of whom Franz Kafka belongs to occupies many minds more persistently than is perhaps necessary.

Franz Kafka about 34 years old. July 1917 © Archiv Klaus Wagenbach © Archiv Klaus Wagenbach

Reiner Stach

Franz Kafka in the 21st century

Why do we continue to find Franz Kafka so compelling 100 years after his death? Why is Kafka still considered to be so modern and contemporary? What awaits us in Kafka’s anniversary year of 2024? Reiner Stach, Kafka’s most important biographer, provides us with some answers.

Kafka at the age of 34 in July 1917 © Wagenbach Verlag (Art work: Tobias Schrank) © Wagenbach Verlag (Art work: Tobias Schrank)

Everything’s well regulated

Bureaucracy

What’s the most effective way for a family to manage the children’s screentime? By enforcing rules – simple ones initially.  It quickly takes on Kafkaesque proportions. Some observations on bureaucracy by Maximilian Buddenbohm.

Confusing traffic lights in front of a tower Photo (detail): © mauritius images / STOCK4B / Felbert+Eickenberg Photo (detail): © mauritius images / STOCK4B / Felbert+Eickenberg

Kafka’s humour

The big laugher

Kafka is a writer of dark, nightmarish tales? – Perhaps, yes. But this is too superficial a view. Let us embark on a quest for the comical in Kafka.

Staircase in the house at Zeltnergasse 3, Prague © Verlag Klaus Wagenbach © Verlag Klaus Wagenbach

Kafka and sport

The great swimmer

Most people know Franz Kafka as that brilliant author who wrote The Metamorphosis, The Judgment or The Trial. However, what many Kafka buffs don’t know: Kafka was a thoroughly physical person, Kafka was not just sporty, he was an all-out sports enthusiast.

Kafka on the beach with a stranger, September 1913 on the Lido in Venice © Verlag Klaus Wagenbach © Verlag Klaus Wagenbach

Amelie Kahl

Franz had style

What do Kafka and fashion have in common? A feeling of always arriving too late. We chase after fashion and can escape it only to a limited degree. In a way, we are at its mercy. Because no matter how we dress or don’t dress, our outward appearance always says something about us.

Model at the Roubíčková fashion salon in Prague © Museum of Decorative Arts Prague © Museum of Decorative Arts Prague

Marie-Pierre Poulin

Booktube mit Kafka

Marie-Pierre Poulin, Bibliothekarin am Goethe-Institut Montréal, stellt euch in ihrer Booktube-Video-Reihe den zeitlosen Kafka-Klassiker „Die Verwandlung“ von Franz Kafka vor.

Marie-Pierre Poulin Goethe-Institut Montréal Goethe-Institut Montréal

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