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There are many parallels in the literary work of Edo Popović and Matthias Politycki. Both writers are rooted in the artistic avantgarde of the 20th century. Both have encountered real dangers for their books; both their novels incorporate the description of modern metropolitan life as well as meditative nature observations.
In his essay Anleitung zum Gehen, Edo Popović describes hiking through the Velebit mountains in Croatia. In meticulous detail, he observers a hiker who releases himself from hurriedness, speed and haste and moves forward in a world not bound by the pressure of self-optimization but taking on poetic characteristics in its stillness and frugality.
In Matthias Politycki’s novel Das kann uns keiner nehmen walking also plays a cathartic role – in this case, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. What starts out as an adventure in the mountains, triggers reflections about male fantasies, the experience of death and the power of love. The wilderness is no friendly influence and attempting to control the wild is only avoidable with irony.
Mountains and cities – what forms of the wild do they both produce? Does the wild teach us a stoic attitude towards life, or getting involved and trying to influence things? How does a philosophy of walking and slowly moving forward contrast with the compulsion for haste and incessant progress?

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© Alexander Tempel

Matthias Politycki, b. 1955, is a German writer. He is considered a globetrotter among German writers. He runs marathons and is constantly on the move. He rose to fame, among others, with his cruise ship satire 180 Tagen um die Welt. Recently published: Das kann uns keiner nehmen, 2020. “Matthias Politycki is the intrepid explorer of German contemporary literature. It’s good that we also have a literary daredevil in contemporary literature who is not satisfied with half measures.”

Edo Popović, b. 1957, is a Croatian writer. He was co-founder of one of the most influential underground literary magazines in former Yugoslavia. He became a war reporter from 1991 to 1995. His novel Mitternachtsboogie became the cult book of a generation. Recently published in German: Anleitung zum Gehen, 2015. “Edo Popović faces up to the world that he lives in in his book ‘Anleitung zum Gehen’. It is a critical reflection about time, mankind and nature.” Ralph Gerstenberg, Deutschlandfunk