ZW Reading 26.05.2024

With Laura Leupi and moderation by Patricia Birrer.

About the book:
This is a story about a room that is prone to mold. Acrid smells, staring chairs and quiet words in the sheets are the silent witnesses of a violence for which Laura Leupi's book seeks a language. But it is not only the violence experienced that needs to be described, but also the consequences, the dissociation, the loss of trust in the world. How does the perception of home change when a person experiences sexualized violence in this supposed "safe space"? How can we talk about rape if we ourselves cannot utter the word without embarrassment?
'The Alphabet of Sexualized Violence' is an autofictional search for clues. It brings together terms, fantastic stories and political spells that serve as a starting point for thinking about sexualized violence and its effects. It is an attempt to give the precarious memory a vessel - and to think of a self-determined future.

About the author:
Laura Leupi, born in Zurich in 1996, works in theater and writes prose and performance texts, also in various collectives. Most recently, Laura was artist in residence at the Dogo Residency for New Art in Lichtensteig. 'The Alphabet of Sexualized Violence' was written there and was awarded the 3sat Prize at the Bachmann Prize 2023.