Images shape our lives. Writing guides us through everyday life. We read the facial expressions of those around us, read signs, landscapes, and architectures. Therapists read dreams, hunters the tracks of wildlife. We read data, symbols, posts, and novels. We gather ourselves when we read. We read literature quietly – mostly. But the ear is always listening. A fine organ that processes twice as many impressions per second as the eye. It warns us, maintains balance, stimulates our senses and imagination. "The ear writes along," says Alexander Kluge like many authors for whom voices, rhythm, sound, and listening are crucial in writing.

The journalist and author Cornelia Zetzsche dedicates her "Speech on Language" to listening and orality, as storytelling and listening are essential cultural skills. And she speaks with renowned writers for whom reading, listening, and writing are inseparable: Feridun Zaimoglu turns real voices into fictional characters. For Ulrike Draesner, reading aloud is also a physical experience. The Swiss Michael Fehr, who is severely impaired in sight, accesses the world of reading through hearing. For spoken word artist Miedya Mahmod, the text only becomes complete with the performance. And when Fiston Mwanza Mujila, the Austrian from Zaire, now the Republic of Congo, reads aloud, an orchestra of voices and sounds resonates.

They all come together that evening in the auditorium of the Catholic University of Paderborn. A place characterized by its light-flooded wooden construction, making it uniquely suitable for discussing the boundaries of the obvious. With enthusiasm and a spirit of experimentation, Ardhi Engl brings his tonal language to life. The multi-instrumentalist plays both the classical guitar and original creations made from everyday objects.