Elfriede Gerstl

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Elfriede Gerstl

Elfriede Gerstl (16 June 1932 – 9 April 2009) was an

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

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.[1]

Gerstl's work spanned several different genres, including poems, essays and short stories.[2] She was a devoted feminist, and much of her writing examines the subject of gender roles.[1] In 1999 she received the Erich Fried Prize, as well as the Georg Trakl Poetry Award.[2] On her death in 2009, Austrian minister of culture Claudia Schmied said that German-language literature had lost an important contributor.[2] Gerstl's lifelong friend and colleague 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.[3] Gerstl married author and radio editor Gerald Bisinger in 1960, with whom she had one daughter.[1]

Works

Collected works

  • Band 1: Mittellange Minis. Herausgegeben von Christa Gürtler und Helga Mitterbauer. Graz: Droschl 2012.
  • Band 2: Behüte behütet. Herausgegeben von Christa Gürtler und Helga Mitterbauer. Graz: Droschl 2013.
  • Band 3: Haus und Haut. Herausgegeben und mit einem Nachwort von Christa Gürtler und Martin Wedl. Graz: Droschl 2014.
  • Band 4: Tandlerfundstücke. Herausgegeben und mit einem Nachwort von Christa Gürtler und Martin Wedl. Graz: Droschl 2015.

Individual editions

Recordings

References

  1. ^ a b c d Childs, David (2009-05-29). "Elfriede Gerstl: Viennese writer who survived the Holocaust". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
  2. ^ a b c d "Autorin Elfriede Gerstl 76-jährig gestorben" (in German). Kleine Zeitung. 2009-04-09. Archived from the original on 2009-07-23. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
  3. ^ a b c "Elfriede Gerstl ist gestorben" (in German). Der Spiegel. 2009-04-09. Retrieved 2009-09-02.

Bibliography

  • Konstanze Fliedl & Christa Gürtler (eds.): Dossier Elfriede Gerstl (NR. 18). Literaturwissenschaftliche Arbeiten zu Elfriede Gerstl. Literaturverlag Droschl, Graz 2002.
  • Herbert J. Wimmer: In Schwebe halten – Spielräume von Elfriede Gerstl – ein Diskursbuch literarischer und gesellschaftlicher Entwicklungen der 60er und 70er Jahre des 20. Jahrhunderts. 2. Auflage. edition praesens, Wien 1998.
  • Dagmar Winkler-Pegoraro: Elfriede Gerstl. „Sprache(n), Spiele, Spielräume“. – Experimentelle Literatur in Österreich. Dissertation, Universität Wien 1999.
  • Handbuch österreichischer Autorinnen und Autoren jüdischer Herkunft 18. bis 20. Jahrhundert. Band 1. Hrsg. von der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek, Wien. Saur, München 2002, pp. 414 f.

External links