Ort des Zaubers und der Schrecken

“Desk Giants, Bench Dwarfs, and Vice Versa” is the title of a reading accompanied by a slide show, hosted by the Schönecker Kulturkreis Altes Amt on Sunday, October 25. Author Seep Jakobs will read stories from his books *Abgänger* and *Die Abschiedsfeier*, which revolve around the theme of school. Artist Bärbel Busch will showcase a selection of her illustrations to accompany the reading. Violinist Eva Thiel (Schönecken) will provide musical accompaniment for the event.

Jakobs, who has lived in Hesse for many years, comes from a family of teachers in Schöneck. He is familiar with the inner workings of a village school in the Eifel region and a humanities-focused small-town high school in the 1960s and 1970s. As a storyteller, he has repeatedly turned his attention to rural school life “back then”—with humor, a critical eye, and a touch of nostalgia. In his prose, he lets adolescents go on adventures, make mistakes, face hardships, and learn; their teachers perform miracles and fail with varying degrees of consequence. This is especially true of his collection of stories *Abgänger* (2021). But in his latest story, “Die Abschiedsfeier” (2026), he also returns in his own unique way to the village and the school setting. Both books have been illustrated with drawings and watercolors by Bärbel Busch (Schwollen, Hunsrück) and published by “edition buschwerk.” The reading will be accompanied by music from Eva Thiel.