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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

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