30. LesArt Ansbach: Botanik des Wahnsinns (Leon Engler)

The reading tells of a young man who suffers from a panicked fear of going mad. In his family, stays in psychiatric care are almost normal, and he looks back on the biography of his family: a family tree of madness. His grandmother is bipolar, his grandfather a regular at Steinhof, his mother an alcoholic, his father depressive.

He tries escape: to New York, to Paris, to Vienna. He tries attack: he becomes a psychologist and works in psychiatry. There, of all places, where he never wanted to go, he sees his family's history in a new light and learns that a person is always more than their illness.

Above all, he soon has to ask himself what a normal person is supposed to be. Leon Engler (born 1989) works as an author, psychologist and lecturer for psychology and literary writing. He grew up in Munich and studied theatre, film, media and cultural studies and psychology.

His awards include the 3sat-Preis at the Bachmann-Wettbewerb, a nomination for the aspekte-Literaturpreis 2025, a Stipendium Villa Concordia, and Lieblingsbuch des Schweizer Buchhandels 2026. After the reading there is a themed discussion round with Prof. Dr. Mathias Zink, Chefarzt der Klinik für Psychiatrie, Psychotherapie und Psychosomatik am BKH Ansbach. The event takes place at Kunsthaus R3, Reitbahn, 91522 Ansbach.