Starting today, Wednesday, October 7, the Department of German and Slavic Studies and the Addlestone library is hosting an exhibit on the 20th century Austrian poet and novelist Ingeborg Bachmann.

Ingeborg Bachmann (1926-73) is one of the most famous German language poets of the 20th century. Her poems, stories, and novels focus on questions of gender identity, war, and the belated Vergangenheitsbewältigung (coming-to-terms with the Nazi past) in postwar Austria. Bachmann wrote a dissertation on the philosophy of Martin Heidegger and existentialist philosophy and language critique permeate her oeuvre. Since her death, her writings have assumed a prominent position in the 20th century German literary canon and an iconic status among feminists in Germany and Austria. Contemporary authors such as the 2004 Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek view Bachmann’s work as a crucial turning point in the emergence of new female voices in German language literature.

The exhibit will be held on the second floor of the Addlestone Library throughout the month of October. In conjunction with the exhibit, the Bachmann scholar Kirsten Krick-Aigner (Wofford College) will give a public lecture entitled “Ingeborg Bachmann: A Voice for the 21st century” on Friday, October 16th, at 3:30pm in room 227 of Addlestone Library.

Please mention the exhibit and lecture to students and others in the broader Chaleston community!