Swiss citizens recently voted about new regulations for their radio and television licence fees. The result was an extremely close vote for a licence fee that, similar to the German model, is not based on usage. All households must pay the licence fee and now all companies and businesses as well. The new rules were…
2015, Literary trends across Europe
Beautiful Book Award/ Auszeichnung für schönste Bücher
by Beat Mazenauer •
Every year in various European countries beautiful books are nominated for an annual award. This is a celebration of finest quality books, creative design and traditional print craftsmanship. The typography may be as accurate as ever, the layout as original, paper as unique and production as intricate as can be, but the annual nominations offer…
2015, Literary trends across Europe
Fahrenheit 451
by Beat Mazenauer •
The ‘Perlentaucher’ website recently published a text by Wolfram Schütte “On the Future of Reading”. It was a flamboyant plea for a critical online journal that could be symbolically known as “Fahrenheit 451”. A lively debate followed, see https://www.perlentaucher.de/essay/perlentaucher-debatte-literaturkritik-im-netz.html Digital media threaten the traditional sinecures yet also offer opt-outs from awkward predicaments. Wolfram Schütte’s plea…
2015, Innovations in the digital field, Literary trends across Europe
Tim Krohn’s Human Emotions/ Tim Krohns menschliche Regungen
by Beat Mazenauer •
In contemporary music the digital revolution has resulted in a heavy decline in profits from CD sales. Musicians must therefore find new incomes sources, for instance, with live appearances. Literature cannot expect a similar revolution, yet even writers are thinking about how to fund their lifestyle (apart from literary grants). Revenues from book sales are…
2015, Innovations in the digital field, Literary trends across Europe
Writing in Space / Die Schrift im Raum / L’Ecriture dans l’espace
by Beat Mazenauer •
In the 1990s, hyperfiction pointed new ways into the literary future. Mark Amerika’s Grammatron narrated a Golem story through short text particles, which were interlinked, and offered alternative narrative pathways to reading. Yet the trend was short-lived – the new narrative forms were barely acceptable for traditional literary criticism. Today, what is left is the…
2015, Literary trends across Europe
Is poetry the winner?/ Lyrik gewinnt?
by Beat Mazenauer •
The surprise was universal. Nominations for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize already left a lot of people wondering about a poetry volume being shortlisted among the year’s top five books. Now, precisely this exotic title has won the prize. Jury member Meike Feßmann described it in her laudatory speech as a “like a thunderbolt” for…
2014, e-literature
Rasende Lektüren!
by Beat Mazenauer •
Der Wille ist stark, allein die Zeit ist kurz. Wer kann schon alles lesen, was er oder sie lesen möchte! Eine neue Technik verspricht nun Rettung: Spritz „Spritz’s mission is to change the way people read and make communication faster, easier, and more effective.“ Nichts weniger als das! Auf der Webseite lässt sich gleich erproben, was…
2014, e-literature
Wie kapitalintensiv ist Lesen?
by Beat Mazenauer •
In seinen Frankfurter Poetikvorlesungen “Der Leser. Das Erzählen” (1982) zeichnet Peter Bichsel ein verführerisches Bild des Lesers. Lesende sind subversiv, lautet die Quintessenz, weil sie sich von der Konsumwelt abwenden und eigensinnig in Welten der eigenen Leseerfahrung eintauchen. Lesende sind sich im Moment der Lektüre selbst genug. Folgt man diesem Bichselschen Gedanken, so ist das…
2014, e-literature
Pius Knüsel über Alles und Nichts
by Beat Mazenauer •
Das „Zukunftsatelier Buch_Text” der Solothurner Literaturtage 2014 versammelte Vorträge und Diskussionen über die Zukunft des Buches. Wenn sich Bücher zu Texten und Verlage zu online-Communities wandeln, dann bleibt die Literatur davon nicht unbeeindruckt. Literatur – was ist denn das? So könnte es in zwanzig Jahren durchaus heissen. Doch was bedeutet das insgesamt für die literarische…