Reading

In the forthcoming Dreaming the Mainstream: Critical Fictions of U.S. Power (Merve Verlag, Berlin) Mark von Schlegell reads Emily Dickinson, Patricia Highsmith, H.P. Lovecraft, Philip K. Dick and others as vanguard agents of the 20th Century paperback revolution. This lecture will shine light on the relatively unknown career of the contemporary U.S. science fiction "grand-master" Jack Vance to speculate on the paperback revolution's history and possible survival in the current crisis of 21st century publishing and the anarchy beyond.

Mark von Schlegell is born in 1967 in New York and lives in Cologne. He is an American science fiction writer and cultural critic. His numerous essays have appeared in magazines such as: "Parkett", "Arttext" and "Flash Art". His most recently published books are “Mercury Station” (2009, Semiotext(e)) and “New Dystopia” (2011, Sternberg Press); and – in German – the essay “Realometer” (2009, Merve) and the sci-fi novel “High Wichita” (2011, Matthes&Seitz). Since 2011 he is Guest Professor at the Städelschule.

In cooperation with Merve Verlag.