Audiowalk: The Thomas Mann House in Pacific Palisades
Info
In honor of Thomas Mann's birthday, we present Stefan Keppler-Tasaki's "The Thomas Mann House in Pacific Palisades," a new audio tour for our mobile app "Exit Exile," which explores the history of the Manns' exile residence in Los Angeles.
The tour connects past and present, highlighting the historical significance of this 1941 architectural gem and its development into a site of transatlantic dialogue. It reveals the stories and events that shaped this house, taking you through the world where Thomas Mann and his family planned, furnished, and lived in their Pacific refuge.
Chapter Overview
... Covers the planning and construction of the house, including architectural and design decisions.
... Discusses the use of the house as a family residence, including daily life and family activities.
... Details the geographical location of the house and the description of the surroundings and neighborhood significance.
... Covers the numerous guests who visited the house and the social gatherings that took place there.
... Describes the various rooms of the house and their furnishings, including special features and style elements.
... Discusses the design and use of the garden as a retreat and recreational area.
... Covers the Mann family's departure from California and the reasons for their move.
... Details the time when the house was occupied by the Lappen family, its near-demolition, and its transformation into an international debate site.
Contributors
Author: Stefan Keppler-Tasaki
Editing: Anke Beims
Narrators: Manuel Harder and Katharina Merschel
Director: Giuseppe Maio
Sound: Michael Kube - Mainland Studios Berlin
Production: VATMH 2024
About the Author
Stefan Keppler-Tasaki, born in 1973 in Wertheim am Main, studied German Studies, Political Science, and Sociology in Würzburg and earned his doctorate on the constitution of the subject in Goethe's narrative work. He held various academic positions, including a tenure-track professorship at the University of Tokyo, and is a member of the Berlin Excellence Cluster "Temporal Communities: Doing Literature in a Global Perspective."
His numerous awards include the Viktor-von-Scheffel Prize, scholarships from the German National Academic Foundation, and the Dissertation Prize from the University of Würzburg. He also received an Einstein Visiting Fellowship in Berlin, a Thomas Mann Fellowship in Los Angeles, and a Max Kade Professorship at the University of California, Davis. His publications include "Alfred Döblin. Masses, Media, Metropolises" and "How Goethe Became Japanese" as well as the "Handbook of Literature & Film."
Stefan Keppler-Tasaki lives in Tokyo.
More information on Exit Exil
"The Thomas Mann House in Pacific Palisades" is part of the mobile app "Exit Exil," which commemorates the exile of German-speaking artists and intellectuals in the 1930s and 40s, connecting their experiences with those of contemporary artists living in exile today.
Download "Exit Exil" for free on Android and iOS:
