Jan Brandt, born in Leer (East Frisia) in 1974, studied history and literature in Cologne, London, and Berlin. His first novel, „Gegen die Welt“ (Against the World), was shortlisted for the German Book Prize in 2011 and won the Nicolas Born Debut Prize. Since then, he has published several memoirs, most recently the dual-residence biography „Ein Haus auf dem Land/Eine Wohnung in der Stadt“ (A House in the Country/An Apartment in the City) (2019), all published by DuMont-Buchverlag.
“Schöppingen could not have been more suitable for LandLines, the project I was involved in at the invitation of the Center for Literature and the Künstler*dorf Schöppingen. This place exemplifies the contrast between city and countryside in an almost symbolic way, especially when artists who normally live and work in cities spend some time in the Künstler*dorf. It quickly became apparent that we were all interested in carnival, albeit in different ways, in costumes, masks, parades, and processions. Our work deals with questions of identity, origin, and traditions. We were fortunate to encounter a very active carnival association, the NSKKV, and hope to collaborate with them at our festival in the
summer.”