U8 Untergrundminiaturen

Anthology featuring texts by Sven Pfizenmaier, Marius Hulpe, Veronique Homann, Poljak Wlassowetz, Daniel Klaus, Arad Dabiri, Marlies Pahlenberg, Aidin Halimi, Sebastian van Vugt, Frauke Gerstenberg, Konstantin Helm, Sebastian Kaep, Halina Mirja Jordan, and illustrations by Cris Koch.

The U-Bahn line 8 traverses Berlin from north to south. 24 stations. 24 worlds. 24 prejudices. There is hardly a subway line in this country with a more dubious reputation than the U8: overcrowded, loud, dirty, abyssal, dangerous, drug-infested, and unpredictable.

The fact is: the U8 is a unique subway line, a melting pot and cauldron, a Hieronymus Bosch painting in motion. Those who engage with it, approach it and its passengers unreservedly, and drift through this pulsating main artery will perhaps gain a better understanding of this city, the world gone awry, and the hopeless present.

The miniatures and short stories collected in this anthology approach the myth of the U8 in stylistically and thematically diverse ways. The 13 texts by both well-known and lesser-known authors are accompanied by illustrations from the artist Cris Koch. He has iconographically captured the U-Bahn line 8 and provided a visual framework for the texts presented here.

“Berlin is no longer Berlin,” people often say, when they glorify the past and overlook the fact that things have always been in motion. “For now, the U8 is still the U8,” we say, hoping that things will continue to remain in motion in the future.

So take a deep breath, get on board, and sink into the underground.