Writer and literary scholar
Raoul Schrott, born in 1964, has received numerous awards, including the Peter Huchel Prize and the Joseph Breitbach Prize. His most recent books published by Hanser include “Homers Heimat” (2008) and his translation of the “Iliad” (2008), “Gehirn und Gedicht” (2011, together with brain researcher Arthur Jacobs), the story “Das schweigende Kind” (2012), the translation of Hesiod's “Theogony” (2014), the poetry collection “Die Kunst an nichts zu glauben” (2015) and “Erste Erde” (epos, 2016), “Politiken & Ideen” (Essays, 2018), “Eine Geschichte des Windes oder Von dem deutschen Kanonier der erstmals die Welt umrundete und dann ein zweites und ein drittes Mal” (novel, 2019), "Inventur des Sommers" (Inventory of Summer, 2023) and the unique book project "Atlas der Sternenhimmel und Schöpfungsmythen der Menschheit" (Atlas of the Starry Sky and Creation Myths of Humanity, 2024) and most recently "Zeitgeist. Ein Plädoyer für Menschlichkeit" (Zeitgeist: A Plea for Humanity, 2026). In 2023, he held the Ernst Jandl Lectureship at the University of Vienna.
Photo: © Peter-Andreas Hassiepen
Monday, 23. March 2026, 19:00 – 20:00 h
At Literaturhaus Zurich, Limmatquai 62, 8001 Zürich
What is Zeitgeist? How did it come about? How does it spread and shape societies? How do we give in to it or resist it? And what impact does it have on literature? A book that only Raoul Schrott could write: half essay, half poetry collection, a bibliophile reversible book. In his essay, Raoul Schrott presents a surprising and insightful analysis of our present. As a counterpoint, he portrays us in his poems as individual persons: whether young or old, in apocalyptic moods and promises of happiness, in the certainties of each individual as well as in their disorientation in the face of times that have become disparate.
Monday, 25. November 2024, 19:00 – 20:00 h
At Literaturhaus Zurich, Limmatquai 62, 8001 Zürich
Moderation: Nicola Steiner
"In a time before writing, the starry sky was a cinema of the night."
Every culture depicts itself in its own way in its starry sky. The constellations serve as a "picture book" of their gods, heroes, animals, plants and most important objects, the meaning of which is told in the starry legends; in addition, the starry skies are closely linked to their own creation myths. After years of research, the Austrian poet, writer and literary scholar Raoul Schrott documents the knowledge of 17 cultures on all continents about the stars, the sun, the moon and the planets in his "Atlas der Sternenhimmel und Schöpfungsgeschichten der Menschheit" (Hanser Verlag): from the South African Bushmen to the Ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Incas, Mayans to the Eskimo, Maori and Australian Aborigines. He has compiled the surviving star legends and myths and presents over 500 constellations in his book, most of which have only been visualised for the first time after thousands of years.
In conversation with Nicola Steiner, Raoul Schrott takes us on a journey around the world and through time to historical and indigenous cultures to tell us about their starry skies and their different meanings and functions.