Over the last fifteen years, the emergence of groundbreaking work on trauma in literature and critical theory has made a profound impact both within and beyond the field of literature. Müller surely represents and reflects upon the traumatic events of twentieth-century Europe, as well as the cultural diversity of East Central Europe; she feels compelled to write about them and to show her aversion to all forms of authoritarian rule. There is no doubt that Müller’s all-pervading concern with totalitarianism; her commitment to uncover political and cultural “truths” distinguishes her as an author for whom personal integrity is everything. In fact, Müller’s work is not only structured by a narrative of trauma, articulated with increasing directness, but also by a remarkable lyrical intensity, that manages to preserve a substantial, enriching imaginative space for the reader within such unremitting anger. Thus the reader is not only confronted with “autofiction,” as Müller herself suggests, but also with something akin to “surfiction,” a term coined by American author and critic Raymond Federman. I argue that this characteristic feature is not only a mark of her aesthetic achievement or her consummate artistry, but also the key to her convincing critical voice.

The pressure of experience pushes language into poetry. Fact, fistion, autofiction, and surfiction in Herta Müller's work / P. Bozzi. ((Intervento presentato al 34. convegno Annual conference of the German Studies Association (GSA) tenutosi a Oakland, California, USA nel 2010.

The pressure of experience pushes language into poetry. Fact, fistion, autofiction, and surfiction in Herta Müller's work

P. Bozzi
Primo
2010

Abstract

Over the last fifteen years, the emergence of groundbreaking work on trauma in literature and critical theory has made a profound impact both within and beyond the field of literature. Müller surely represents and reflects upon the traumatic events of twentieth-century Europe, as well as the cultural diversity of East Central Europe; she feels compelled to write about them and to show her aversion to all forms of authoritarian rule. There is no doubt that Müller’s all-pervading concern with totalitarianism; her commitment to uncover political and cultural “truths” distinguishes her as an author for whom personal integrity is everything. In fact, Müller’s work is not only structured by a narrative of trauma, articulated with increasing directness, but also by a remarkable lyrical intensity, that manages to preserve a substantial, enriching imaginative space for the reader within such unremitting anger. Thus the reader is not only confronted with “autofiction,” as Müller herself suggests, but also with something akin to “surfiction,” a term coined by American author and critic Raymond Federman. I argue that this characteristic feature is not only a mark of her aesthetic achievement or her consummate artistry, but also the key to her convincing critical voice.
10-ott-2010
Settore L-LIN/13 - Letteratura Tedesca
German Studies Association
The pressure of experience pushes language into poetry. Fact, fistion, autofiction, and surfiction in Herta Müller's work / P. Bozzi. ((Intervento presentato al 34. convegno Annual conference of the German Studies Association (GSA) tenutosi a Oakland, California, USA nel 2010.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/209019
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