Day three: new favourites, major slating

On the last day of readings, Iris Schmidt’s text received some slating. It may go down in history  as the least well received text of the FGLL 2010. For Peter Wawerzinek and Verena Rossbacher, there is still hope for a prize.

A favourite? Wawerzinek opened the readings

Peter Wawerzinek’s “Rabenliebe” opened the third and final day of readings at the FGLL 2010. The author, who grew up in the GDR, was proposed by Meike Feßmann. He dedicated his readings to the sick Hannelore Kain. The jury was mostly enthusiastic about Wawerzinek’s prose that is full of “fervour and heartbeat” (Keller), which makes the author one of the favourites for the Bachmann Prize.

Jury discussion Peter Wawerzinek

Major slating for Iris Schmidt

Wawerzinek was followed by German author Iris Schmidt and her text “Schnee”. Her text was slated by the jury as a “Kafka rip-off” and “Stephen King for the poor”, and is the least well received text in the history of the FGLL 2010. “Very unstructured and clumsy” (Spinnen), a “banal horror story” (Sulzer) that “entirely lacks singularity” (Feßmann) – even though Hildegard Elisabeth Keller appeared to see it as a “nasty fairytale”.

Jury discussion Iris Schmidt

The audience laughed a lot, the jury not so much

The afternoon continued with author Christian Fries, who was proposed by Paul Jandl. His text “Hutmacher, privat” made the audience laugh – the jury acted as a self-appointed “party pooper” (Winkels) and many didn’t find it funny at all. The presentation itself by the author, who is also an actor, also sparked discussions: the “wild first-person narrator” appreciated by Elisabeth Keller, meant that the “serious undertone” was lost for Meike Feßmann – for many, what remained was “superficial humour” (Fleischanderl) and the feeling the author produced a “cold platter” of highlights especially for Klagenfurt (Spinnen).

Jury discussion Christian Fries

“Language experiment” polarised the jury

An Austrian “Alphabet der Indizien” concluded the readings of this year’s Festival of German-Language Literature: Verena Rossbacher was the last author to compete with her novel excerpt “schlachten”.

The experimental text caused the jury to oscillate between “ethnic matters”, “Bible study” and “fundamental philosophy” (Clarissa Stadler), but they didn’t quite agree about Rossbacher’s text and its author (“a language machine running full blast”): and Karin Fleischanderl didn’t even think that her German colleagues, above all Burkhard Spinnen, are able to properly understand the “Austrian tone in literature”: “You allowed yourself to be dazzled!”

Nonetheless: Rossbacher’s chances of a prize in Klagenfurt don’t appear too slim.

Jury discussion Verena Rossbacher

Day two: a first favourite?

Day one: much praise for Elmiger

Online audience vote

On Saturday, between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., the form for the audience vote will be online. Please ONLY vote during this time.

Participants have one vote each and they have to give reasons for their choice. The Hypo Prize is worth 7,000 euros.

Information about the Hypo Group Audience Prize

TDDl 2010