From Achleitner to Zweig – Three Decades of Austrian Literature in Poland  Cover Image

Od Achleitnera do Zweiga – trzy dekady literatury austriackiej w Polsce
From Achleitner to Zweig – Three Decades of Austrian Literature in Poland

Author(s): Dorota Szczęśniak
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: literary translation; critical commentary; translation theory; comparative literary studies

Summary/Abstract: The bibliographical research on Polish translations of Austrian literature and their reception was published in 2009 as Austrian Literature in Poland from 1980 to 2008. An Annotated Bibliography (Literatura austriacka w Polsce w latach 1980-2008. Bibliografi a adnotowana, edited by Edward Białek and Katarzyna Nowakowska). This monumental work of over twenty Polish scholars features 266 authors on 500 pages. It tracks down translations of fi ction and non-fi ction; it lists monographs, articles and reviews (including theatre and TV adaptations and their reception). The abundance and variety of the material documents well the familiarity of the Polish audience with Austrian literary output. Relatively a small country, Austria nevertheless enjoys a great popularity in Poland. The image of Austrian literature that the bibliography uncovers is flattering: the authors presented through translation and literary discussion are wellchosen and representative, although there are some inexplicable absences – for example, Karl Kraus – which may be caused by delay, rather than by lack of interest. Three reasons for such a thorough presentation of Austrian literature in Poland are worth mentioning: the well-recognized contribution of Austrian authors to the world literature (it is enough to mention Arthur Schnitzler, the “inventor” of the stream of consciousness; Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Georg Trakl; concrete poets such as Friedrich Achleitner, Hans Carl Artmann, Konrad Bayer and Ernst Jandl; prose writers and playwrights such as Stefan Zweig, Thomas Bernhard or Elfriede Jelinek); the common history of Austria and Poland; and the presence of excellent translators.

  • Issue Year: 2009
  • Issue No: 22-23
  • Page Range: 320-326
  • Page Count: 7
  • Language: Polish