Wespennest
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Wespennest'' (literally translated "wasps nest") is a bi-annual literary magazine published in Austria. It includes texts and images by authors and artists, presenting themes on specific countries, literature, art theory or politics, along with interviews, polemics, book and theatre reviews and works of photography on 112 pages.


History

The magazine was founded in 1969 and originally developed as a project by a group of authors from the Vienna
68er-Bewegung The West German student movement (), sometimes called the 1968 movement in West Germany (), was a left-wing social movement that consisted of mass student protests in West Germany in 1968. Participants in the movement later came to be known as ...
. The twenty-year-old writers Peter Henisch und Helmut Zenker initially founded Wespennest as a publication for their own texts, dissociated from the literary magazine '' Literatur und Kritik'', which they found "too virtuous", and '' Manuskripte'', which they found "too avant-garde". After the founding authors resigned, other writers including
Gustav Ernst Gustav Ernst (born 23 August 1944) is an Austrian playwright, novelist and screenwriter. He has also founded and edited two literary journals, ''Wespennest'' and '' kolik''. Ernst was born in Vienna, where he read Philosophy, Psychology and His ...
and Franz Schuh, worked as editors and co-publishers of Wespennest for many years. In the mid-1980s,
Josef Haslinger Josef Haslinger (born July 5, 1955) is an Austrian writer. Haslinger was born in Zwettl, Lower Austria. He studied philosophy, drama and Germanic studies at the University of Vienna. He received his PhD in 1980. Since then he has been working as ...
altered the concept of the quarterly magazine. In addition to German-language literature and essays, it began to publish regular translations of foreign authors who were not well known in the German-speaking world. A collaboration was also formed with the European network of cultural journals
Eurozine ''Eurozine '' is a network of European cultural magazines based in Vienna, linking up more than 90 partner journals and just as many associated magazines and institutions from nearly all European countries. ''Eurozine'' is also an online magazin ...
, which Wespennest helped to found. Walter Famler, the magazine’s current publisher, expanded the magazine’s activities at the beginning of the 1990s to include book publishing, coming out with three to five books a year in the series ''Edition Literatur'', ''Edition Essay'' and ''Edition Film''. Founded as a literary magazine, Wespennest now includes works on the humanities and social sciences. It regularly publishes critical essays on topics of
contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...
and film, and coverage of political and social events in and outside Austria. The 100th issue, which appeared in September 1995, included further content and design changes by Stefan Fuhrer. Articles appear under the heading ''Wespennest Portraits'', which has included articles on
Drago Jančar Drago Jančar (; born 13 April 1948) is a Slovenian writer, playwright and essayist. Jančar is one of the most well-known contemporary Slovene writers. In Slovenia, he is also famous for his political commentaries and civic engagement. Jančar' ...
, Dževad Karahasan, John Mateer and Meg Stuart. The articles aim to maintain a connection between photographs and text. The magazine is published under a distribution agreement with the
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
-based publishing house
C.H. Beck Verlag C. H. BECK oHG, established in 1763 by Carl Gottlob Beck, is one of Germany's oldest publishing houses. Historically, the company's headquarters were in Nördlingen. The initials of the founder's son and successor, Carl Heinrich Beck, su ...
. It aims to provide a literary forum and a critical public for authors, who have included
Friedrich Achleitner Friedrich Achleitner (23 May 1930 – 27 March 2019) was an Austrian poet and architecture critic. As a member of the Wiener Gruppe, he wrote concrete poems and experimental literature. His magnum opus is a multi-volume documentation of 20th-cent ...
, Gabriela Adameşteanu, Gennadij Ajgi, Sadik Al-Azm, Les Back, Lothar Baier, Colette Braeckman, Alida Bremer, Rudolf Burger,
Mircea Cărtărescu Mircea Cărtărescu (; born 1 June 1956) is a Romanian novelist, poet, short-story writer, literary critic, and essayist. Biography Born in Bucharest in 1956, he attended Cantemir Vodă National College during the early 1970s. During his sc ...
, Peter O. Chotjewitz, Inger Christensen,
György Dalos György Dalos (born 23 September 1943) is a Hungarian Jewish writer and historian. He is best known for his novel ''1985'', and ''The Guest from the Future: Anna Akhmatova and Isaiah Berlin''. Life Dalos was born in Budapest and spent his childh ...
, Jesús Díaz, Ulrike Draesner, Michail Eisenberg, Katarina Frostenson,
Arno Geiger Arno Geiger (born 22 July 1968) is an Austrian novelist. Geiger grew up in the village of Wolfurt near Bregenz. He studied German studies, ancient history and comparative literature at the universities of Innsbruck and Vienna. He has worked as ...
, Georgi Gospodinov, Sabine Gruber,
Adolf Holl Adolf Holl (13 May 1930 – 23 January 2020) was an Austrian Catholic writer and theologian. He lived in Vienna, where he was Chaplain of the University of Vienna and a lecturer in its Department of Catholic Theology Theology is the study o ...
,
Nora Iuga Nora Iuga (born 4 January 1931) is a Romanian poet, writer and translator. Iuga was born in Bucharest, Romania on 4 January 1931. As well as being a writer, Iuga has also worked as a journalist, foreign language assistant, and editor. Her first ...
,
Jaan Kaplinski Jaan Kaplinski (22 January 1941 – 8 August 2021 ) was an Estonian poet, philosopher, politician, and culture critic, known for his focus on global issues and support for left-wing/ liberal thinking. He was influenced by Eastern philosophical s ...
,
Sema Kaygusuz Sema Kaygusuz (born August 29, 1972, in Samsun, Turkey) is a novelist, playwright, essayist, and short story writer from Turkey. Her work has been translated into English, Italian, German, French, Swedish, and Norwegian. She won a Yunus Nadi Award ...
, Navid Kermani,
Friederike Mayröcker Friederike Mayröcker (20 December 1924 – 4 June 2021) was an Austrian writer of poetry and prose, radio plays, children's books and dramatic texts. She experimented with language, and was regarded as an avant-garde poet, and as one of the l ...
, Suketu Mehta, Dmi-trij Prigow,
Elif Şafak Elif Shafak ( ; née Bilgin; born 25 October 1971) is a Turkish-British novelist, essayist, public speaker, political scientist and activist. Shafak writes in Turkish and English, and has published 21 books. She is best known for her nove ...
, Warlam Schalamow, Robert Schindel,
Burghart Schmidt Burghart Schmidt (30 November 1942 – 13 February 2022) was a German philosopher. He was professor at Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach and the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Education He was born in Wildeshausen, Oldenburg, Germany. S ...
, Olga Sedakova, Heinz Steinert,
Ilija Trojanow Ilija Trojanow (Bulgarian: Илия Троянов, also transliterated as Ilya Troyanov; born 23 August 1965 in Sofia) is a Bulgarian–German writer, translator and publisher. Life and literary career Trojanow was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1 ...
, Tomas Venclova, Wolf Wondratschek and others. The forum for European literature has had contributions from Spain, the Netherlands, Greece and Scandinavia, and discusses the literature of
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
. Four themed issues are published each year, with occasional special editions, such as those about the
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
composer
Franz Koglmann Franz Koglmann (born 22 May 1947) is an Austrian jazz composer. He performs on both the trumpet and flugelhorn in most often in avant-garde jazz and third stream. An award-winning composer, Koglmann has performed or recorded with Lee Konitz, Paul ...
, the poet
Friederike Mayröcker Friederike Mayröcker (20 December 1924 – 4 June 2021) was an Austrian writer of poetry and prose, radio plays, children's books and dramatic texts. She experimented with language, and was regarded as an avant-garde poet, and as one of the l ...
and the
Art Brut Art Brut is an English indie rock band. Their debut album, '' Bang Bang Rock & Roll'', was released on 30 May 2005, with its follow up, ''It's a Bit Complicated'', released on 25 June 2007. Named after French painter Jean Dubuffet's definition ...
artist
Adolf Wölfli Adolf Wölfli (February 29, 1864 – November 6, 1930) was a Swiss visual artist who was one of the first artists to be associated with the Art Brut or outsider art label. Early life Wölfli was born near Bern. He was abused both physically and ...
. The magazine was awarded the V.O. Stomps Prize from the city of
Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
in 2003, for "outstanding achievements in small-scale publishing activities".


Editorial board

Since 2014, Andrea Roedig and Andrea Zederbauer edit the magazine along with Walter Famler, Erich Klein, Jan Koneffke (literature), Tanja Martini («überläufer»), Reinhard Öhner (photos), and Ilija Trojanow (reportage). Thomas Eder is in charge of the book review section. György Dalos (Berlin), George Blecher (New York), Jyoti Mistry (Johannesburg) and Franz Schuh (Vienna) are regular collaborators.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wespennest 1969 establishments in Austria Magazines established in 1969 German-language magazines Literary magazines published in Austria Quarterly magazines Magazines published in Vienna