Shared Reading – Literature for All

Shared reading – Amazing experiences from the UK

Shared reading groups are still a novelty in Germany. The basic principle behind the idea is simple: to leave everyday life behind for a while and have a conversation with others based on a piece of literature. It is on purpose that sessions do not follow a fixed format, and they are meant to also attract people who have little exposure to literature and reading. “In fact, I am most interested in participants who don’t normally read,” says biologist Kerstin Graumann, a petite woman from Bremen.

When Kerstin heard about the shared reading trend in the UK a few years back, she immediately inquired how she could become a reading group facilitator. She completed her three-day training in Liverpool. In the workshop, she learned how to involve the group and drive the discussion. She also realized the importance of shared reading in British society: Some 400 reading groups already exist in the country. They meet in community centers, companies, hospitals, and prisons. One story she heard was of a 17-year-old girl sent to a shared reading session by her social worker. The girl sat down, arms crossed, announcing: “You can’t force me to do anything!” But then she returned every week.

As a reading group facilitator in Germany, Kerstin has had equally surprising experiences: “In one group, we had a few dementia patients. They just sat there, seemingly uninvolved for a long time. But eventually, they began to relate their life to literature. One woman used to work at sea, and she saw parallels to this lifestyle in the text.” Kerstin is planning to set up permanent shared reading groups in her hometown of Bremen.

Literature is never “too heavy,” but often too lowbrow

Permanent groups have already been established in Berlin, Frankfurt, and Heidelberg. The driving force behind these groups is Carsten Sommerfeldt, who founded the German shared reading spinoff together with a team of like-minded people. It all began with a sabbatical: A seasoned publishing house manager, Carsten needed a change. “I was part of the literary scene for 20 years, and this industry has a somewhat hermetic feel to it at times,” he says in retrospect. His idea was to find a more hands-on, participative approach to literature. Carsten was inspired by a book he read on “reading as medicine,” and when he learned about the shared reading movement in the UK, he knew this was it.

Initially, he tried out shared reading with friends and neighbors in different Berlin backyards. Since 2015, Carsten has worked on establishing a shared reading network in German-speaking countries. To date, 2,500 people in Germany have experienced shared reading, and there are a good 40 trained facilitators. In 2016, Carsten and his team presented the shared reading concept at the Leipzig Book Fair, and he continues to promote the idea. When asked for the right reading material for these sessions, the literature expert states that literature is never “too heavy,” but often too lowbrow. “Mysteries and popular fiction, for instance, don’t leave enough room for fantasy and interpretation. It is literary fiction that constantly surprises people.”