Marko Martin © photo private

 

Marko Martin [Germany]

Born in 1970 in Burgstädt, East Germany, Marko Martin is a distinguished writer, essayist, and critic known for his incisive explorations of exile, memory, and dissident culture. He was banned from attending university for political reasons and, in May 1989, he left the GDR as a conscientious objector. He studied German language and literature, politics and history at the Technical University and the Free University in Berlin. His most recent publication, Und es geschieht jetzt. Jüdisches Leben nach dem 7. Oktober. (Tropen, tl: And it is happening now. Jewish life after October 7.) was published in 2024.

Martin’s writing often reflects his experiences as an outsider, navigating the tensions between freedom and authoritarianism. His Story-collections “Sleeping Dogs” and “The Night of San Salvador” describe individual resistance and non-conform sexuality in Latin-America, South-East-Asia und the Midde East – so also do his literary diaries “Madiba Days. An south-african journey”, “The Last Days of Hongkong” and “Tel Aviv. The world in a nutshell”.

A prolific traveler, Martin’s works span continents, capturing the voices of dissidents, exiles, and cultural outsiders. His narratives move fluidly between reportage and literary prose, making him a unique voice in contemporary German literature. Martin is also a regular contributor to major German media outlets, where he examines cultural and political shifts in Europe and beyond.  Martin is a member of the PEN Centre of German-speaking authors abroad, where he has been working in the human rights section “Writers in prison” for years. He is a member of PEN Berlin.

Residing in Berlin, he continues to write about the intersections of identity, freedom, and global political currents.