From Worpswede to the Azores and Guayaquil - stories set in, by and on the sea, told with an abundance of fantasy and a thirst for adventure.
Johannes Schenk`s writing, like his own life, is full of poetry, magic and fantastic stories. Whether he takes us to Worspswede at the time of his childhood, whether he tells us of oriental princes or his shipmates, »of captains with nothing in their heads but shipping, indifferent towards the misfortunes of the crew, of bosses that would never be let out of the syndicate without a knife stuck in their back, of sharks, watery bets and punch-ups, the poker king from Essen in the South Atlantic«, - he consistently mixes dream and reality in an overflowing surge of narrative. Schenk’s stories are populated by powerful protagonists with a lust for life, characters who are amazed at the things that happen to them, and who in turn fascinate the reader. They arouse a desire to look at the world in a new and genuine way, as an adventure. His stories awaken the vision of a dignified way of life in which love, playfulness and joyful cooperation are possible.
This book is the beginning of a series of Johannes Schenk`s works to be published by Wallstein. In the next few years, volumes of poetry, novels, plays, radio plays and letters will also be published.
The Author
Johannes Schenk (1941-2006), grew up in Worpswede, became a ships boy and sailor at fourteen. Six years later sailed around the South Seas in his own ship (a converted lifeboat). Dishwasher, gardener, bookseller, stevedore, road mender, stage technician at the Schaubühne theatre, author. Wrote poetry, novels, stories, plays. From the 1960s onwards he lived in Berlin and in a circus caravan in Worpswede.
