Spoken Acts
Young Poetry on Stage.
What moves the young scene in the Ruhr area? Spoken Acts is our new stage for the spoken word by young actors from the Ruhr area. Between slam poetry and comedy, readings and talks, our acts negotiate issues that concern them and their generation in very different ways. Together they find the words to resist reality and relentlessly name their utopias.
Every Friday at 5 pm, Wunderland becomes a refuge for young word art from the Ruhr area.
Wohnzimmerslam (22 August)
Wohnzimmerslam e.V. presents: Poetry Slam at the Ruhrtriennale
Wohnzimmerslam e.V. has been organising poetry slams in Dortmund and Bochum with different line-ups for 10 years. At a poetry slam, poets compete against each other with texts they have written themselves. Each evening is a little surprise bag with thought-provoking, humorous, socially critical and personal texts. Each line-up is different and brings its own dynamic to the show. At the Ruhrtriennale, the Wohnzimmerslam presents four of the best slammers from the Ruhr area, each performing two texts. The event will be hosted by Jana Goller, known in the scene for her humour and spontaneity in poetry slams and speed-dating formats.
Miedya Mahmod und Esra Canpalat (29 August)
Young Word Art: Between Poetry and Prose
Two authors from the Ruhr area, Miedya Mahmod and Esra Canpalat, will present their own texts and discuss their approaches to authorship.
Born and raised in the Ruhr area, Miedya Mahmod has been working with paper and stage poetry since 2016, writing short prose, long poems and everything in between. They is part of the post-German collective parallelgesellschaft. They is co-editor of LytterZine, the first illustrated poetry magazine on Twitter (RIP) created by and for users, and has participated in the first German-language spoken word poetry retreat at the Hausacher LeseLenz literature festival. In 2024, Mahmod was represented by an installation in the KÖRPER:SPRACHEN exhibition at Burg Hülshoff and was the Centre for Literature's house artist. Having narrowly missed out on a place in this year's Ingeborg Bachmann Competition, they were recently awarded the Ruhr Literature Prize.
Esra Canpalat is a writer and literary scholar from the Ruhr area. Taking a transcultural approach, she writes stories, essays, academic articles and texts on art and cultural mediation. Her interests include autofiction, documentation and remembrance. She won the 2021 Ruhr Prize and was honoured in the 60 Jahre Migration aus der Türkei – Neue Hoffnungen literary competition. She is currently working on a novel provisionally titled Sesler. Stimmen. Her column Vom Rande aus is published online at interkultur.ruhr.
Dein Couseng (5 September)
Rapper, comedian, producer and videographer – Dein Couseng is a quadruple threat for good entertainment. Born in Essen, Germany, he roams the streets of the Ruhr area with rap and the finest in comedy entertainment. His lyrics are sometimes humorous reflections on racism, sometimes anthems for the Ruhr, sometimes house, sometimes trap, sometimes RnB, but always with a wink. At Spoken Acts he will present a colourful mix from his diverse portfolio.
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