When does the reading take place?

On Friday, October 9, 2026, at 7:00 PM in the Oudry Hall of the State Museum Schwerin.

How much is the entry fee?

The entry fee is €15.00 plus ticket fee.

Where exactly is the event?

In the Oudry Hall of the State Museum Schwerin, Alter Garten 3, 19055 Schwerin.

Is the event part of a series?

Yes, the reading takes place as part of the 31st Schwerin Literature Days.

Are there any accessibility notes?

The State Museum Schwerin describes itself as a modern, inclusive, and barrier-free cultural venue with electric lifting platforms and automated doors.

What is the book about?

The book connects material history, nature observation, and cultural-historical reflections around marble, mercury, and fog.

Judith Schalansky unfolds a quiet, sparkling literary event in Schwerin

Name: MARBLE, MERCURY, FOG. WHAT THE WORLD IS MADE OF – Reading with Judith Schalansky
Start: 2026-10-09T19:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-10-09T20:30:00+02:00
Location: Oudry-Saal im Staatlichen Museum Schwerin

Judith Schalansky in Schwerin: Literature between material, memory, and worldview

The 31st Schwerin Literature Days invite you to an evening that takes literature as a form of knowledge seriously. Judith Schalansky reads in the Oudry Hall of the State Museum Schwerin from her new book Marble, Mercury, Fog. What the World is Made Of and thus opens the view to a prose that artfully intertwines nature observation, cultural history, and intellectual precision.

An evening that transforms materials into language

Schalansky's writing thrives on intellectual tension and linguistic finesse. In her hands, a block of marble becomes a starting point for world knowledge, a natural material a resonant space for history, power, and perception. The reading promises a literary experience that relies not solely on plot, but on thought movement, rhythm, and the quiet author-audience encounter between stage and audience.

Between museum hall and literary density

The Oudry Hall in the State Museum Schwerin provides the perfect setting for this: a place where art, collection, and reading enter into dialogue. Those who listen here experience not just a book presentation, but a precisely curated reading atmosphere. The historic venue adds depth to the event, as Schalansky's texts repeatedly engage with materiality, form, and cultural memory.

What Marble, Mercury, Fog is about

The central question of the new book is how the world can be read in its materials. Schalansky follows traces of marble quarries, sculpture, knowledge orders, and the shimmering transitions between nature and culture. This results in an essay language that combines literary quality with essayistic breadth. Those who love contemporary literature will find here an author who transforms observation into insight.

Literature days with profile

The event is part of the Schwerin Literature Days and is thus embedded in a program that makes the city a place of literary focus for one evening. The reading is aimed at readers who appreciate demanding prose, essayistic forms, and a strong linguistic fingerprint. A book sale on-site is not explicitly confirmed, but the evening clearly invites to discover the text anew and live.

Conclusion

On October 9, 2026, the audience in Schwerin can expect a reading of special cultural density: Judith Schalansky combines material thinking, poetic intelligence, and the elegance of an extraordinary literary style. Anyone wanting to experience contemporary literature as an intellectual event should not miss this evening.