Fall 2026 Events with Maxi Obexer

European Studies was honored to have been able to host Berlin-based playwright and Fall 2026 Max Kade writer in residence Maxi Obexer for several talks this semester. During her stay, Obexer worked with graduate students, UW–Madison faculty, and visiting professors to put on these events. Each event provided UW–Madison students, faculty, and the wider community with opportunities to explore her works and engage directly with Obexer.

An image of the author and her dog.

In her first talk, Obexer read from and discussed two of her works – Über Tiere schreiben, über Tiere sprechen, and Odysseus’ Hund – Erzählungen von der gegenseitigen Zähmung. In these works, Obexer grapples with what it means to write about animals in a language deeply shaped by human dominance that routinely disparages animals and frames them as deficient beings.

Next, Obexer hosted a group listening and discussion of her award-winning documentary radio play Im Auge des Sturms, Das Kapitol im Januar 2021. This event gave faculty and students the chance to view this infamous event through a new lens, and to challenge and expand their understanding of the events inside the Capitol on January 6th, 2021.

An image of 4 women performing a dramatic reading of the play mentioned.

Obexer next hosted two events with Neil Blackadder, the translator of Obexer’s play The Daughters of Oresteia, which takes Aeschylus’ famous play and shifts the lens to the women – the daughters, sisters, and mothers – that are largely ignored in the original. Obexer and Blackadder worked with graduate students from the Theater Department to perform a dramatic reading of key scenes and later hosted a talk on translation for theater.

Obexer also participated in a discussion with another translator of her work, Georgetown Professor Katrin Sieg and UW–Madison Professor Sonja Klocke. The three panelists discussed Obexer’s oeuvre more generally, with a focus on her autobiographical novel Europas längster Sommer.

Last, Obexer and UW–Madison lecturer Oksana Stoychuk held a discussion on Migration and Belonging in German Literature, moderated by UW–Madison Assistant Professor Leonie Schulte.

An image of the speaker from the last event, participating in a talk with UW-Madison faculty.

We thank Maxi Obexer for her wonderful work across UW–Madison this semester, the Center for German & European Studies, a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Centre of Excellence, and the Max Kade Institute for making it possible.

By Ben Taylor