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Jandl, Paul
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5 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
No clash of the cultures in Austria
Austria is slowly getting used to the idea that it's now a country of immigration and has started a debate about Islam, Paul Jandl reports: "Whereas in 2001 around 14 percent of the population had an immigrant background, now it's over 16 percent. Most immigrants live in Vienna, where a third of the current residents were not born in Austria. However those who fear the Balkanisation of the country can rest assured: the majority of the newcomers don't come from the classic guest worker countries but from the EU. Germans still constitute the largest group. Could it be that the clash of the cultures has been less intense in Austria than elsewhere? There hasn't even been a discussion about the headscarf so far. On the contrary, when the city of Vienna recently presented the new official uniform for its cleaning staff, a headscarf to be worn by Muslim women was also included in the ensemble."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Migration, » Weltanschauung, » Austria
A hommage to Viennese pubs
Paul Jandl went to see the "landmark" exhibition on the history of the traditional Viennese pub in the Wien Museum. "None of the basic elements of the Viennese pub have changed for at least 150 years. The furnishings still consist of a wooden bar with highly polished taps, which the Viennese like to call the 'Budl'. Then there's the wall decorations, the red and white chequered table cloths, an assembly of seasonings on the tables and last but not least, the landlord himself... The Wien Museum manages to present the simple act of eating in such a way that its essence shimmers through. It also explores the transcendental nature of the menu: goulash, schnitzel and roast pork restore the self-confidence of the Viennese pub-goer, and the soothing, constant values of Viennese cuisine are balm to his every worry."
» to the homepage (external link, Neue Zürcher Zeitung)
More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Austria
Thomas Bernhard's play in Salzburg
The Salzburg Festival opened last weekend. On stage was a new production of Thomas Bernhard's play "Ein Fest für Boris" (A Party for Boris). The play was originally commissioned for the theatre festival in Salzburg 42 years ago but "was withdrawn from the programme to spare the nerves of our more sensitive visitors'. Now the young director Christiane Pohle has staged a new version of the text and according to Paul Jandl taken the bite out of the play: "Thomas Berhard's 'anti-Jedermann' play (a reference to the play 'Jedermann' by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, performed every year at the festival since 1920), his attack against the unmarked life of Salzburg society, is a grotesque portrayal of manners - a death certificate for persons in a state of stagnation. A wealthy legless widow, known among the residents of an asylum as 'the good one', takes Boris, whose legs have also been amputated, out of the asylum and marries him... In her Salzburg production Christiane Pohle goes to great lengths to bring out the philanthropist in Thomas Bernhard, of all people. This has inevitably altered the stinging quality of the play entirely."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Stage, » Austria
Elfriede Jelinek's online novel "Neid"
Paul Jandl reads the novel "Neid" (envy), which the Austrian writer has published online. "Jelinek's new prose consists of brilliantly sharp aphorisms, whose sarcasm is fun to read but is no joke. This book is about life and death, even if on the surface it's about the disappearance of an industrial landscape. That the first-person narrator in Elfriede Jelinek's new novel reflects on, and perhaps even longs for, her own disappearance, is one of the melancholy aspects of 'Neid'... The book will appear solely online, where it will or will not - be continued. The delete key is always at hand for those whose approach to authorship is as radical as that of the Viennese writer. Elfriede Jelinek was one of the first authors to have entrusted this medium with her writing. How private is this kind of public? Thanks to what she refers to as the 'trick ink' of the Internet Elfriede Jelinek becomes a virtual character who, as we can see for ourselves, becomes more real, the more fictional she gets."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Literature, » Online media, » Austria
The problems of Austrian German in Europe
Paul Jandl expresses his concern about the survival of Austrian German in Europe. "The world of Europe is multi-centred, but so is the German language. In it, Austrian High German, as well as Swiss High German, are not secondary phenomena. At least that's what philologists say. But try telling that to Europeans. Only slowly did Austria find its way back to its language after the Second World War." Jandl describes how Austrian German can sometimes cause problems in EU committees: "An Austrian official's announcement that illegal border crossers had been 'betreten' (kicked) caused a commotion at an EU plenary session. A tumultuous half hour ensued because there were fears that in Austria human rights were literally being trampled on. Eventually the misunderstanding was cleared up: in Austria if someone is 'betreten' it means he's caught in the act."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Austria, » Europe
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