© Sandra Birklbauer

One is a CROWD – Markus Köhle

Literature as a European mother tongue: In our series “One is a CROWD”, we introduce you to authors from all over Europe who will be involved in the CROWD omnibus reading tour, taking place from May to July 2016, featuring 100 authors who will be travelling through 15 European countries. We asked them three questions about text production, reception and mediation. In case you were wondering what a literary activist between Innsbruck and Vienna looks like, meet Markus Köhle!

Do you see yourself as an author? Are you the originator and main authority of your text? And if not, who is, if anyone at all?

Yes I do.
I call myself even AUTOHR. That’s a play on words, cause OHR means “ear” in German. I don’t write to hurt, I write to get heard.
Yes I am.
But of course my surroundings feed me. If they feed me good, I pay them with text.

Do you like reader comments and feedback to your texts? What could be the consequences of a social editing?

I like to participate in poetry slams. There you always get direct feedback. That is helpful for texts written for the audience. And it can be the opposite for texts written to be read. It’s important to learn to deal with comments.

What is your favorite literary spot in …? (literary venue, bar, meeting spot etc.) Please give us a link to the website of the spot)

Two spots in Vienna. An institution called Alte Schmiede. And a place to have some beers as well: ALSO


Photo © konflozius

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