Lingua Franca

New England’s Cultural Center for Things German: Goethe-Institut Boston

By J. Douglas Guy, WLC

The greater Boston area is lucky to have the German Cultural Center for New England right smack dab in its midst. Located not far from the French Cultural Center, Alliance Français in the heart of Back Bay, Goethe-Institut Boston is about a two-block walk from the Public Gardens at 160 Beacon St. Part of an international chain of culture and language institutes sponsored by the German government, Goethe-Institut Boston supports students and teachers of German with a broad range of cultural and instructional activities. The institute runs film series showing recent movies as well as historic films, some shown on premises and others at the Coolidge Corner Theater on Sunday mornings. Premieres of adventurous contemporary theater works are regularly performed in house. Lectures and readings by German authors are frequent, as are concerts featuring the latest in electronica from central Europe or classical music, performed in the institute’s magnificent parlor facing Beacon Street. There are weekly book discussion groups, philosophy discussion groups and special courses on everything from poetry in music to contemporary film, broadcasts of major soccer matches and an annual Christmas party. People who are interested in finding others interested in things German attend the monthly Wein-Bar, which offers unlimited wine and munchies for a cover fee (if you’re legal) and conversation in German or English in the downstairs rooms or on the veranda overlooking the Charles River. The Institut publishes a bi-weekly newsletter that includes all the upcoming events and notifications of jobs where people can use their skill in German. To get on the mailing list, write to: info@boston.goethe.org