Between 1979 and 1986, the Institut für Deutsch als Fremdsprache at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich was active in the promotion of exophonic writing — writing by non-native speakers of German — through the organization of writing competitions and the publication of anthologies with Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag. The Institute’s efforts culminated in the inauguration of the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize in 1985 and ran parallel to the development of grassroots initiatives such as ‘PoLiKunst’. This paper traces the development of the Institute’s activities and argues that they were neither simply an imperialistic and depoliticizing appropriation of ‘Gastarbeiterliteratur’, nor were they entirely without self-interest, but rather that the Institute was as much reactive as proactive with regard to the goals of its own initiatives, their shape, and the manner in which they were received. The success of the Institute’s activities is assessed against their effects on grassroots publishing and promotional endeavours
