Salem Poetry Project Flight and Metamorphosis and All of Us or None

This evening will have readings by two poets in exile. “Flight and Metamorphosis” marks the culmination of Nelly Sachs’s development as a poet. Sachs, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1966, speaks from her own condition as a refugee from Nazi Germany. Berthold Brecht wrote a number of poems about life in Germany under Nazi control including “What the Leader Does Not Know,” “The Book Burning,” “The Neighbor“ and “All of Us or None.” These poems will be read by four local poets.

Dramatist and poet Nelly Sachs was born into a Jewish family in Berlin in 1891. Her father was a manufacturer, and the family lived a comfortable, middle-class life. Sachs studied dance and literature and began writing when she was an adolescent. During that time, she also began corresponding with the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf, a contact who would later help her escape Nazi Germany.

Bertolt Brecht was one of the most influential playwrights of the 20th century. Brecht was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, in 1898, and the two world wars directly affected his life and works. His plays were banned in Germany in the 1930s, and in 1933, he went into exile finally ending up in Santa Monica, California. In 1941, hoping to write for Hollywood, but he drew the attention of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Although he managed to deflect accusations of being a Communist, he moved to Switzerland after the hearings.

For the months of November through February the Salem Poetry Project will meet at Marco Polo Global Restaurant. The restaurant’s address is 300 Liberty St SE, Salem and the reading will be in the banquet room.

Each week the Salem Poetry Project presents a featured reader followed by the Infamous Open Mic: three poems or five minutes whichever is first. Featured reader begins at 7:00 and the open mic will directly follow. For more information contact Marc Janssen at [email protected].