Beginning this Friday, November 22, the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City will present Franz Kafka, an exhibition coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the author's death. Running until April 13, 2025, and presented in collaboration with the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford, the exhibition will celebrate Kafka's life, literary works, and influence, and include holdings from the Bodleian Libraries that have never appeared before in the U.S. The exhibit focuses on Kafka's connection to the U.S. and will include, among other things, the manuscripts of Kafka's novels Amerika and The Castle, diaries, drawings, and family photographs.
A variety of special programs will run during the course of the exhibition, including panel discussions, lectures, gallery tours, and a concert featuring pianist Jenny Lin performing Philip Glass's Metamorphosis, actor Saori Tsukada reading passages from Kafka's work, and Lindsay Rosenberg performing the premiere of Glass's new works for solo bass.
"The Morgan was delighted at the opportunity to celebrate our centennial in conjunction with the Bodleian and to honor Franz Kafka and his enduring impact on literature," said Colin B. Bailey, the Katharine J. Rayner Director at the Morgan Library. "We are honored to be the sole American venue for this landmark literary exhibition."
Sal Robinson, the Morgan's Lucy Ricciardi Assistant Curator of Literary and Historical Manuscripts, said, "This exhibition, the first of its kind on Franz Kafka in the United States, will not only provide a unique opportunity to celebrate Kafka's work and learn about his life, but will also engage with rarely emphasized aspects of both, from women like Ottla Kafka and Milena Jesenská, who played key roles in his life, to the very much ongoing afterlife of his works as they are translated into other languages and media."