'Wann ordnest Du Deine Bücher?' Die Bibliothek H. C. Artmann by Marcel Atze, Hermann Böhm

Abstract

228 AUSTRIAN STUDIES l6 (20 8) explanation. His close readings of the laterworks focus particularly on character psychology, power, and sexuality and transvestism. They draw attention tomany aspects of Fritsch's work that have gone largely unnoted or unexplained by critics.At the same time, however, they are rarely carried through with complete conviction, largely because Alker's study has no interpretative framework beyond the biographical. The discussions of, for example, power and sexuality in Fasching, which explore questions of exposure, visibility and 'Dressur', are crying out to be brought into dialogue with Foucault, while his emphasis on transvestism invites an engagement with performative theories of gender. But these opportunities are not grasped, and the analyses remain unsatisfying as a result. Alker also largely eschews any kind of sustained narratological analysis, even though a nuanced appreciation of Fritsch's narrative techniques would have offered compelling support for his claims regarding the self-referential status of Fritsch's prose works. Thus, despite identifying the blind spots in Fritsch reception to date, Alker repeatedly returns to the kind of socio-political and biographical interpretation he seeks to avoid, thereby clipping his own interpretative wings in advance. Despite these limitations, Alker's book is a stimulating addition to the secondary work on Fritsch. Not only does itpoint theway forward for other critics dealing with the work of thismost fascinating author, but its comprehensive bibliography is a vital resource. Alker sends one back to Fritsch's texts with fresh eyes and whets the appetite for the edition of Fritsch's diaries which he is currently preparing. University of Durham J.J. Long and Catriona Firth 'Wann ordnest Du Deine B?cher?'Die BibliothekH. C. Artmann. Ed. byMarcel Atze and Hermann B?hm. Vienna: Sonderzahl Verlag. 2006. 239 pp. 19,80. isbn 978-3-85449-261-0. 'Ich habe Sorge um meine B?cher', Artmann confessed shortly before his death in 2000. 'Ich wollte einWaisenhaus, ein Orphaneum f?r B?cher machen. Damit die B?cher nicht in alle Welt verstreut werden. Da sammelt einer ein ganzes Leben an B?chern, und dann, zack, stirbt er, und dann sind die v?llig zerstreut'. Having acquired Artmann's literary estate, including his library, in 2004, theWienbibliothek im Rathaus finished inventorizing and cataloguing the c. 3500 books that formed themain part of the Nachlass in the following year. This important addition to theWienbibliothek's holdings makes available an outstanding biographical and literary historical source, vital for anyone concerned with Artmann's prolific uvre or the seminal role he played in the development of the post-1945 Austrian avant-garde. The present splendid volume celebrates the re-housing of his library as well as documenting the exhibition launched in 2006 to acquaint the reading public with the sheer range of items acquired: material in 70 languages, ranging from (over 250) dictionaries and grammars, numerous scientific treatises, translations, and deliberately non-canonical literaryworks frommany ages and AUSTRIAN STUDIES l6 (20 8) 229 inmany languages, to examples of the various forms of popular literature with which his work is associated. An impression of the gargantuan task of bringing order into such a disparate array of items acquired can be gained from the 'Ausstellungssystematik' reproduced at the end of the present volume. Since Artmann was notoriously nonchalant about the fate of his correspondence and literary papers, Wann ordnest Du Deine B?cher?' seeks to compensate bymaking substantial use of material from the records and reminiscences of friends, publishers, contemporary writers and admirers. In 'Artmanns B?cherwelt', one of the longest and most rewarding parts of the volume, the editors attempt to represent their subject's polymath diversity, sense of cultural adventurousness and infectious pleasure at happening upon some literary curiosity. For this purpose, they reproduce 21 pictures of books inhis collection, appending relatively brief commentaries on their provenance, importance for one or another strand ofArtmann's complex development as a writer and his conception of what good literature ought to offer.Two premises inform this section, and indeed the entire project: (i) 'Bibliotheken sind Autobiographien' and (ii) 'seine Bibliothek erm?glicht einen aufschlu?reichen Blick indieWerkstatt eines Autors'. Some of the books chosen for contextualizing commentary are arguably more of biographical...