UWB Crest

School of Welsh

Literature at Klagenfurt

Image of Angarad

The ‘Alps and Adriatic University’ at Klagenfurt in Austria lies on the border with Slovenia, and is close to both Italy and Hungary. No wonder that Klagenfurt is a crossroads of several languages and cultures. A conference entitled, ‘Regional cultures in an international context’ was held at the university between 8 and 10 November, 2006, organised by Dr Johann Strutz.

Sessions were held on the multilingual literature of Trieste, as well as the literatures of Capodistria, Dalmatia, Croatia and Slovenia. Professor M. Wynn Thomas of Swansea University and I were invited to give lectures on the literature of Wales, followed by a reading in Irish by poet, Gabriel Rosenstock. The conference came to an end with a memorable performance by a folk group from Istria.

It was a valuable opportunity to discuss minority literatures in a meaningful international context, and to realise that the normal condition of the majority of Europe’s population is to live in more than one culture and through more than one language. One of the concrete results of the visit will be the publication of a volume on Wales in the Europa Erlesen series of Wieser Press, co-edited by Johann Strutz and myself.

Going to Klagenfurt also gave me the long-awaited chance to visit the home town of Robert Musil, the great modern novelist and author of the sumptuous Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften (‘The Man Without Qualities’). A literary centre in his name has been established at Klagenfurt, though he died in exile in Switzerland.

Angharad Price