Wellington pedestrians could be forgiven for wondering whether 57 Willis Street had become a window into Berlin on Thursday, as German words rang out through Unity Books. But instead, a little bit of Berlin had come to us, in the form of German author Maike Wetzel . Maike has been living in Wellington since March, as part of the inaugural Goethe-Institut writer-in-residence programme, and the lunch-time event was the last public engagement of her residency.
Whilst in conversation with self-described Germanophile and representative from Creative New Zealand, Calvin Scott, Maike spoke of her experiences on residencies throughout the world, as well as sharing some stories of her time here. Berlin and Wellington may be 18,124 km apart, but Maike’s experience with New Zealand culture extends back quite some time, as she described a long-time interest in the likes of Jane Campion and Katherine Mansfield.
Maike and Calvin then took turns reading from Maike’s short story collection Long Days – Maike reading in the original German, and Calvin reading the same excerpt in translation. It was Wellington’s privilege to play host to the author for these past months – and it was Unity’s privilege to host her in-store.
