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The Reverberations of History: Contemporary Austrian Literature

February 2016

In this collection, originally featured in the February 2016 issue of Words Without Borders, we feature new writing from Austria, introduced and translated by Tess Lewis.

We gratefully acknowledge the Federal Chancellery of Austria for their partial support of this feature.

The Reverberations of History: Contemporary Austrian Literature
By Tess Lewis
The variety and exuberance of contemporary Austrian writing is little known among English readers.
Getting Undressed, Yes, Getting Dressed, Too
By Alois Hotschnig
My Jacob still wants to be a cow.
Translated from German by Tess Lewis
The First Thing I Saw
By Karl-Markus Gauss
The first thing I saw when jolted from sleep was my father throwing books out of the window.
Translated from German by Tess Lewis
Heldenplatz
By Antonio Fian
“The nerve. Everyone cheers for him on the Heldenplatz and then he goes and cuts deals with the Russians.”
Translated from German by Tess Lewis
when speech left me
By Maja Haderlap
my swollen tongue twitched / in my dry mouth.
Translated from German by Tess Lewis
translation
By Maja Haderlap
here sentences must disrobe
Translated from German by Tess Lewis