At present, forces are at work in literature that lead from written culture to spoken culture, from the medium of the book to the medium of the human being. The rediscovery of literature as an original performance art is particularly evident in current movements such as "spoken word" or "poetry slam". In these scenes, the production, distribution and reception of literature emerge directly from one another. Participatory event formats are emerging in which art and life form a unity. In a series of essays, Boris Preckwitz's volume explores the structures of these new literary scenes and, using methods from German studies and cultural studies, develops an approach to understanding that sees itself as a contribution to a general aesthetics of interaction.