On Friday 18 October 2024 from 3.30pm to 5pm BST our members will have the opportunity to attend a curator-led tour of Kafka: Making of an Icon at Weston Library (part of the Bodleian Libraries) in Oxford. Opening in May 2024, Kafka: Making of an Icon marks the 100th anniversary of the author’s death, celebrating not only his achievements and creativity but also how he continues to inspire new literary, theatrical and cinematic creations around the world.

The exhibition features materials from the archives of the Bodleian Libraries, which hold the majority of Franz Kafka’s papers, including literary notebooks, drawings, diaries, letters, postcards, glossaries, and photographs. Notably, the notebooks in the archive include the original manuscripts of two of Kafka’s unfinished novels, Das Schloss (The Castle) and Der Verschollene (America), as well as a number of short stories.

The exhibition will be introduced by Professor Katrin Kohl, a co-curator, and you are then welcome to explore on your own and ask questions.. Katrin is a Fellow and Tutor in German at Jesus College, and Professor of German Literature at the University of Oxford, and the event will be followed by a small drinks reception at Jesus College.