Elfriede Gerstl
Encyclopedia
Elfriede Gerstl was an Austria
n author and Holocaust
-survivor. Gerstl, who was Jewish, was born in Vienna, where her father worked as a dentist.
. After the war she started studying medicine and psychology at Vienna University, but ended her studies after the birth of her daughter. During the 1950s she became more and more involved in writing, and published her first work in the journal Neue Wege (New Ways) in 1955. Her first published book was Gesellschaftsspiele mit mir (Party games with me), a collection of poems and short prose that came out in 1962. In 1963 Gerstl moved to West-Berlin, where she received a scholarship from the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin. While living in Berlin, in 1968–69, she wrote the novel Spielräume (Room to Manoeuvre), which was not published until 1977. She remained in Berlin until 1972, when she returned to Vienna.
Gerstl's work spanned several different genres, including poems, essays and short stories. She was a devoted feminist, and much of her writing examines the subject of gender roles. In 1999 she received the Erich Fried Prize
, as well as the Georg Trakl
Poetry Award. On her death in 2009, Austrian minister of culture Claudia Schmied said that German-language literature had lost an important contributor. Gerstl's life-long friend and college Elfriede Jelinek
commented that, in spite of the tragic experiences of her life, Gerstl had always had the ability to write in a light and witty tone. Gerstl married author and radio editor Gerald Bisinger in 1960, with whom she had one daughter.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n author and Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
-survivor. Gerstl, who was Jewish, was born in Vienna, where her father worked as a dentist.
Biography
She survived the war years by hiding in various locations with her mother at one point she had to hide in a wardrobe and thereby avoided being sent off to a concentration campNazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
. After the war she started studying medicine and psychology at Vienna University, but ended her studies after the birth of her daughter. During the 1950s she became more and more involved in writing, and published her first work in the journal Neue Wege (New Ways) in 1955. Her first published book was Gesellschaftsspiele mit mir (Party games with me), a collection of poems and short prose that came out in 1962. In 1963 Gerstl moved to West-Berlin, where she received a scholarship from the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin. While living in Berlin, in 1968–69, she wrote the novel Spielräume (Room to Manoeuvre), which was not published until 1977. She remained in Berlin until 1972, when she returned to Vienna.
Gerstl's work spanned several different genres, including poems, essays and short stories. She was a devoted feminist, and much of her writing examines the subject of gender roles. In 1999 she received the Erich Fried Prize
Erich Fried Prize
The Erich Fried Prize is a literary prize in honour of the Austrian poet Erich Fried, and is awarded annually by the International Erich Fried Association for Literature and Language, based in Vienna. The value of the prize, endowed by the office of the Chancellor of Austria, is 14,600 euros...
, as well as the Georg Trakl
Georg Trakl
Georg Trakl was an Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists.- Life and work :Trakl was born and lived the first 18 years of his life in Salzburg, Austria...
Poetry Award. On her death in 2009, Austrian minister of culture Claudia Schmied said that German-language literature had lost an important contributor. Gerstl's life-long friend and college Elfriede Jelinek
Elfriede Jelinek
Elfriede Jelinek is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004 for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that, with extraordinary linguistic zeal, reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power."-...
commented that, in spite of the tragic experiences of her life, Gerstl had always had the ability to write in a light and witty tone. Gerstl married author and radio editor Gerald Bisinger in 1960, with whom she had one daughter.
Works
- Gesellschaftsspiele mit mir. Gedichte und Kurzprosa. Kulturamt der Stadt Linz 1962.
- Berechtige Fragen. Hörspiele. Edition Literaturproduzenten, Wien 1973.
- Spielräume. Roman. 1977. edition neue texte, Literaturverlag Droschl, Graz 1993.
- Narren und Funktionäre. Essays. Wien 1980.
- Wiener Mischung. Gedichte und Kurzprosa. edition neue texte, Literaturverlag Droschl, Linz/Graz 1982.
- eine frau ist eine frau ist eine frau … autorinnen über autorinnen (Herausgeberin). Promedia VerlagPromedia VerlagPromedia Verlag is an Austrian publishing house established in 1983. Founded to publish "books against the grain", particularly in the field of cultural history, it has since expanded to cover politics, history and travel books...
, Wien 1985. ISBN 978-3-900478-08-7 - Vor der Ankunft. Reisegedichte. Viersprachige Ausgabe, deutsch-englisch-französisch-italienisch, Freibord-Verlag Sonderreihe, Wien 1988.
- Ablagerungen. Anthologie. Hrsg. gemeinsam mit Herbert J. Wimmer, edition neue texte, Literaturverlag Droschl, Graz 1989.
- Unter einem Hut. Gedichte und Essays. Deuticke Verlag, Wien 1993.
- Kleiderflug – Texte Textilien Wohnen. Mit einer diskursiven Fotoserie von Herbert J. Wimmer: „alfabet des wohnens“. Edition Splitter, Wien 1995
Erweiterte Neuauflage: kleiderflug – schreiben sammeln lebensräume. Mit einer diskursiven Fotoserie von Herbert J. Wimmer: „alfabet des wohnens“. Edition Splitter, Wien 2007. ISBN 978-3-901190-44-5. - Die fliegende Frieda. Ein Jugendbuch. Mit Illustrationen von Angelika Kaufmann. Edition Splitter, Wien 1998.
- Alle Tage Gedichte – Schaustücke. Hörstücke – plus Mini-Buch: hin & her & hin. Deuticke Verlag, Wien 1999.
- neue wiener mischung. neue und alte gedichte, kurzprosa. Mit einem Nachwort von Konstanze Fliedl. edition neue texte, Literaturverlag Droschl, Graz 2001.
- gemeinsam mit Herbert J. Wimmer: LOGO(S) – ein schachtelbuch. fünfzig text-ansichts-karten. Literaturverlag Droschl, Graz 2004. ISBN 3-85420-654-2
- mein papierener garten. gedichte. Literaturverlag Droschl, Graz 2006. ISBN 978-3-85420-708-5
- Spazi per giocare con la mente – Spielräume. Übersetzung von Dagmar Winkler. Vorworte von Elfriede JelinekElfriede JelinekElfriede Jelinek is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004 for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that, with extraordinary linguistic zeal, reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power."-...
und Fausto CercignaniFausto CercignaniFausto Cercignani is an Italian scholar, essayist and poet.- Biography :Born to Tuscan parents, Fausto Cercignani studied in Milan, where he graduated in foreign languages and literatures with a dissertation dealing with English at Shakespeare’s time...
. Perosini Editore, Zevio/Verona 2007. ISBN 978-88-85409-63-7 - Assortimento viennese – Wiener Mischung. Gedichte, ausgewählt und übersetzt von Riccarda Novello. Vorwort von Elfriede Jelinek. Luciana Tufani Editrice, Ferrara 2008. ISBN 978-88-86780-69-8
- lebenszeichen – gedichte träume denkkrümel. Mit einem Vorwort von Elfriede Jelinek. Mit Illustrationen von Heinrich Heuer, Angelika Kaufmann, Herbert J. Wimmer. Literaturverlag Droschl, Graz 2009. ISBN 978-3-85420-763-4