E-Book Overview
20th-century Austrian literature boasts many outstanding writers: Schnitzler, Musil, Rilke, Kraus, Celan, Canetti, Bernhard, Jelinek. These and others feature in broader accounts of German literature, but it is desirable to see how the Austrian literary scene -- and Austrian society itself -- shaped their writing. This volume thus surveys Austrian writers of drama, prose fiction, and lyric poetry; relates them to the distinctive history of modern Austria, a democratic republic that was overtaken by civil war and authoritarian rule, absorbed into Nazi Germany, and re-established as a neutral state; and examines their response to controversial events such as the collusion with Nazism, the Waldheim affair, and the rise of Haider and the extreme right. In addition to confronting controversy in the relations between literature, history, and politics, the volume examines popular culture in line with current trends. Contributors: Judith Beniston, Janet Stewart, Andrew Barker, Murray Hall, Anthony Bushell, Dagmar Lorenz, Juliane Vogel, Jonathan Long, Joseph McVeigh, Allyson Fiddler. Katrin Kohl is Lecturer in German and a Fellow of Jesus College, and Ritchie Robertson is Taylor Professor of German Language and Literature and a Fellow of The Queen's College, both at the University of Oxford.
E-Book Content
Katrin Kohl is a Lecturer in German at Oxford University and a Fellow and Tutor of Jesus College, Oxford. Ritchie Robertson is Professor of German at Oxford University and a Fellow and Tutor
A History of Austrian Literature 1918–2000
of St John’s College, Oxford.
Contributors: Andrew Barker, Judith Beniston, Anthony Bushell, Allyson Fiddler, Murray G. Hall, Katrin Kohl, J. J. Long, Dagmar C. G. Lorenz, Joseph McVeigh, Ritchie Robertson, Janet Stewart, Juliane Vogel.
A History of Austrian Literature 1918–2000
The list of Austrian writers in the twentieth century is a celebrated one: Schnitzler, Musil, Rilke, Kraus, Celan, and two Nobel laureates, Elias Canetti (1981) and Elfriede Jelinek (2004). These writers and many others necessarily feature in broader accounts of German literature such as volume 10 of the Camden House History of German Literature. But it is desirable also to see them in relation to the Austrian literary scene and to show how the Austrian context shaped their writing. This volume thus has three aims: to provide informative surveys of major and minor Austrian writers in the genres of drama, prose fiction, and lyric poetry; to relate these writers to the distinctive history of modern Austria, in which a democratic republic was overtaken by civil war and authoritarian rule, absorbed into Nazi Germany, and re-established as a neutral state; and to examine the literary response to controversial episodes such as Austrian collusion with Nazism and anti-Semitism and, more recently, the Waldheim affair and the disturbing rise of Haider and the far right. Austrian writers have at times colluded in the creation of historical myths; often, however, especially in recent decades, internationally distinguished authors such as Jelinek and Thomas Bernhard have opposed official attempts to whitewash history. This volume confronts controversy in the relations between literature, history, and politics. It examines not only elite but also popular culture, and discusses other media such as film, radio, and television in line with current trends in cultural studies. (Continued on back flap)
ISBN 1-57113-276-7
Camden House 668 Mt. Hope Avenue Rochester NY 14620-2731 USA and P.O. Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK www.boydellandbrewer.com or: www.camden-house.com
ED. KOHL & ROBERTSON
EDITED BY KATRIN KOHL AND RITCHIE ROBERTSON
Photographs: (Front) The remains of Thomas Bernhar’s writing workshop, after his death on 12 February 1989 – the end of an er