Lyrical Mudflat Hike — Prelude to Föhr erLesen

Literature in the Wadden Sea World Heritage

The Lyrical Mudflat Hike is arguably the most unusual event in the prelude to the literary festival “Föhr erLesen". Instead of being in a hall, the audience sits on wet sandbanks, behind the mudworms, with salt on their lips and seagulls overhead. Peter M. Röhm and Hermann Hinsberger, two German-language poets, will lead the group into the mudflats off Wyk auf Föhr, read short poems, and comment on what the hikers see: the play of tides, the layers of silt, the disappearance and return of the water.

Kick-off to Föhr erLesen 2026

“Föhr erLesen” is the annual literary festival of the island of Föhr in the district of Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Holstein. The main program runs from September 4 to 13, 2026, under the motto “Tides – Everything Has Its Time”. The Lyrical Mudflat Hike, two to three weeks prior, sets the mood for the main festival with an unusual format and simultaneously promotes the island as a year-round literary destination.

Confirmed Authors of the Main Festival

• Beatrix Gerstberger (Novel Die Hummerfrauen)
• Detlef Jens (Sailing journalist, Gefährliche Gezeiten)
• Holger Everding (Passionate astronomer)
• Gertrude von Holdt (“Hallig Pastor”, Auf hoher See)
• Andrea Paluch (Historical novels)
• Alexander Källner and Lovis Wiefelspütz (World trip)
• Florian Knöppler (Mit dem ersten Licht)

The Mudflats as a Reading Space

The hike leads from the beach west of Wyk out into the open mudflats. A certified mudflat guide accompanies the group — safety is a priority. During the two to three hours in the mudflats, walking phases alternate with short reading sessions. The poets read from waterproof copies of their poems, and the audience listens in the silence — a special way to hear texts in one of Germany's loneliest landscapes.