Textpraxis # 5

2.2012

We are making progress! This could be the motto of this fifth issue of Textpraxis, in which three new contributions from the field of contemporary literature enter entirely new themes and theories. Dirk Schulz (Cologne) dedicates his article to issues of gender and queer theory, and therefore presents the first article from Anglophone Studies in Textpraxis. Minu Hedayati-Aliabadi (Dortmund) investigates the hitherto less known lyrical-artistic collage work of Nobel laureate Herta Müller. In the Literature and Practice section, Maria Aparecida Barbosa (Santa Catarina) conducts an interview with writer and theater-maker Theresia Walser. She thereby uses the opportunity to try out different text formats in Textpraxis for the first time.

Literature and Society

DirkSchulz

Überleben & Überschreiten vs. Überlesen & Überschreiben

Die heteronormative Ordnung des queeren Diskurses

Due to the constant overwriting and reading over of intentionally ambivalent text arrangements, for some time now the academic as well as the popular usage of the term ›queer‹ is no longer understood as distinguished from the often analogically used terms gay/lesbian or homosexual. Exemplary for this hetero standardization is the dealing with Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. Their genuinely queer refusals of a definitive and categorized way of thinking and writing so far do not find an adequate correspondence neither in the critical reception nor in their adaptations of the millennium. On the contrary, the insistence on ambiguity as principle of survival of both narrations is understood as ›pose‹ or ›camouflage tactic‹. Hereby, autobiographical references of the authors predominate. In this way, the subversive narrative strategies of both texts can be transferred to a heteronormative regularity.

Theories of Literary Study

MinuHedayati-Aliabadi

»Der Fremde Blick« — »ein fremdes Auge«

Transmediale Inszenierung von Schrift und Bild in Herta Müllers Collagen

The article deals with Herta Müller’s image-text-collages, which are hardly noticed in research literature and general public so far. Concretely, after a short introduction in the character of Herta Müller’s work and a medial and structural localization of the image-text-collages follow an analysis of the text’s lyrical and formal design as well as of the medial staging of textual elements and image-text-correlations through the example of the image-text-collages in the newest volume »Die blassen Herren mit den Mokkatassen« (2005). The strategy of strangeness, which can be seen in Herta Müller’s prosaic works, gains a crisis and medial component in the image-text-collages.

Literary Studies and Praxis

TheresiaWalser,Maria AparecidaBarbosa,KarinaSchuller

Die Dramatikerin Theresia Walser spricht mit Maria Aparecida Barbosa über das Theaterstück »King Kongs Töchter«

Mit einer Einführung von Karina Schuller

In her interview, the literary scholar Maria Aparecida Barbosa speaks with the dramatist Theresia Walser. Based on the example of the play King Kongs Töchter (1998), which deals with everyday life in a nursing home in a bizarre way, a variety of subjects are addressed. They talk about theatre’s self-reflexivity, Walser’s understanding of poetic language and realism as well as the creative writing process in general. The interview is complemented by an introduction by Karina Schuller.

Editorial

Onward and upward! The fifth issue of Textpraxis shows how we are continuing to develop, exploring new elements and perspectives. In this issue, the social relevance of literature takes on special importance with a focus on women writers and artists and with a lively discussion of questions of sex, gender and identity. Issue #5 also displays the fundamental importance of international cooperation and collaboration for the scholarly debates that the journal features. The most telling evidence for our international development is the growing number of authors and reviewers from abroad. The diversity that their contributions bring to Textpraxis reflects the breadth of methodological, theoretical and thematic emphases in the different philologies that Textpraxis tries to bring out in each issue. Given the growing international reach of the journal, we decided to provide an English translation of our editorial for this edition. This is just the first step in the development of a multilingual version of the Textpraxis website.

Development is also afoot in our editorial board. Since Textpraxis is a project run by doctoral candidates in the Graduate School Practices of Literature, we are used to constant change and the great advantages that come with it, namely always receiving fresh input from new colleagues joining the program. We are very happy to welcome Seth Berk, Dominic Büker und Pegah Byroum-Wand as the newest members of our editorial board. They have helped immensely with bringing the current issue together.

We would also like to give special attention to the people who are most important in making Textpraxis a site for academic discussion, that is our authors and readers. We encourage you again to supplement, criticize and revise the theses and arguments in this issue with commentaries and response articles. With your contributions, we can keep the dialogue going into our sixth issue, which appears 1 May 2013. Let the claims and positions you find in this issue serve as the basis for a scholarly debate. And happy reading!

Sincerely,
The Textpraxis editorial board

Imprint

Textpraxis #5 (2.2012) has been published on November 1 2012.

Editorial Team:
Seth Berk
Dominic Büker
Pegah Byroum-Wand
Nina Gawe
Gesche Gerdes
Japhet Johnstone
Innokentij Kreknin
Christoph Pflaumbaum
Matthias Schaffrick
Kerstin Wilhelms

Reviewers:
Dr. Yvonne Ivory (Columbia, SC)
Dr. Monica Moyrer (Scranton, PA)

Cover image: Seth Berk