The 20th poesiefestival berlin sets an example against populism and hate speech. The USA is the country under focus: In keeping with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York, two special events are devoted to LGBT writing; Walt Whitman's long poem “Leaves of Grass” is staged; and spoken-word-artist Sarah Kay performs. In Berlin, Argentine poet Sergio Raimondi gives the speech on poetry. In German and English.

Libraries impart the foundations of our existence. In them the past and the future collide and their appropriation produces something new. In the exhibition rare books are on disply – orignially owned by authors like Heinrich Mann, George Grosz, Bernhard Minetti, Christa Wolf, et al. The exhibition provides insights into the more than 600,000 exceedingly fine volumes and collection holdings that are publicly accessible in the Akademie der Künste library.

The Akademie der Künste in Berlin is one of the oldest cultural institutes in Europe. It is an international community of artists that currently totals 411 members in its six Sections (Visual Arts, Architecture, Music, Literature, Performing Arts, Film and Media Arts). The Akademie is an exhibition and event location. A key component of the  Akademie are its archives, which collectively form one of the most important interdisciplinary archives on 20th century art.

The Archives at the Akademie der Künste may be used free of charge for scholarly, private, or press research. Since December 2015, the Archives Database offers a regularly updated online digital research tool. The database contains information on all of the collections in the Archives, which comprise around 1,020,000 archival materials as well as approximately 462,000 analogue and digital copies of archival materials.