IT'S TRUE. I HEAR VOICES.

You hear voices. He, she, they, it hears voices, and so do you—just as we do. People hear voices. Sometimes their own, sometimes familiar ones, sometimes unfamiliar ones. We think that's healthy and makes the world more colorful. After all, what else are our ears for if not for listening?

Voices are true multifunctional wonders. You can not only hear them, but also shape them—into sounds, into tones, into languages. Even more conveniently, they can be shared. Outward, inward, and everywhere in between. They can even be gathered into a single voice while still preserving their many voices within. As sounds, for example, but just as effectively in the form of texts. In this way, voices become not only audible but also readable. And when those texts are read by others, a single voice naturally becomes many.

From the perspective of analytical imagination, this multifunctionality is clearly defined. Here, the First ELK Formula applies:

(Voices × Ears) ÷ People² = Resonance

Logical, isn't it? But resonance is not a fixed result; it is a process, an interpretation—in other words, a function. It can be expressed as f(R) = x. This function of resonance depends on all three factors and can be resolved again and again, in countless different directions.

One possible outcome might be f(R) = Art. Another could be f(R) = Literature. Equally conceivable are f(R) = European Literature Festival Kalk 2020 or f(R) = Atmosphere—or, of course, all of these at once. The beauty of this universal formula is that its result always remains open. For us and for you, for them and for you as an individual. And if resonance truly happens, then voice also becomes participation.

The only condition of the ELK Formula is that Resonance can never equal 0. Otherwise, sooner or later, everything would become very quiet. That would be unhealthy, joyless, and our wonderful ears would somehow lose their purpose. So listen, read aloud, and resonate with all you've got. Voices exist to be shared.

WITH THAT IN MIND: HERE'S TO A POLYPHONIC FIRST EUROPEAN LITERATURE FESTIVAL KALK!