Elfriede Jelinek in the Arena
The Austrian Nobel laureate Elfriede Jelinek has not shied from the major political topics of our times. The legacy of Nazism, the prevalence of right-wing populism, the war in Iraq, the ongoing financial crisis, humanitarian disasters, misogyny and sexism – all are tackled in formally innovative ways and across a wide range of genres. Employing original theoretical approaches to Jelinek’s writing, its theatrical realization and its international reception, the contributors to this volume explore Jelinek’s work through the intersecting lenses of sport, cultural understanding and translation (both linguistic and artistic). This first volume of Austrian Studies to be dedicated to the work of a single author is a testament to the richness of Jelinek’s working methods and to her significant impact in multiple geographical, political and cultural arenas.
This special issue of Austrian Studies is edited by Allyson Fiddler, Professor of German and Austrian Studies at Lancaster, and Karen Jürs-Munby, Lecturer in Theatre Studies at Lancaster. It grew out an international conference on Elfriede Jelinek’s work held at Lancaster in July 2012.
