unruly poetry

How does text come into motion? How does performative language emerge—language that merges sign language poetry and spoken word into a fluid work of art? The literary initiative handverlesen offers answers with its project Fluide Glossare—a chain poem in both German spoken and sign language that unites queer lifeworlds of deaf and hearing individuals.
What does a queer language look like? How do terms from queer lived realities shift between deaf and hearing people? How are new signs formed for new concepts? Four queer artists have taken the format of the glossary as a starting point to poetically explore questions around the origins of terms, their interpretative power, and their own agency.

Anna Julian Mendlik, Biba Oskar Nass, Jon Savkin, and Ela Beysun collaboratively develop a bilingual performance in which new constellations of text, body, and language emerge.
To conclude this year’s unruly readings, the audience will be offered a comprehensive insight into the work of handverlesen: in addition to the performance of Fluide Glossare, a visual exhibition will showcase further handverlesen projects and sign language poetry films. A culinary intervention will provide space for exchange and reflection on the presented works.