Tagungsbroschüre_Zweisprachigkeit_Vecjezicnost

A Carinthian Slovenian, Austro-Slovenian, Austrian, or Slovenian
writer from Austrian Carinthia? Focusing on Biographical
Representation of Carinthian Slovenian Writers
FELIX KOHL
Carinthian Slovenian writers are often regarded as torn between two
languages, two countries, and/or two literary systems. This is reflected
in various forms of representation of their biographies, whose formal
frameworks often require clear terminology (e.g., Slovenian author) that
can sometimes be misleading or problematic. Moreover, biographical
relevance itself can be a significant proof of both the author‘s allegiance
to a nation or a literary system and his or her literary success. As writers
that create on the margin or at the crossroads of two literary systems,
Carinthian Slovenian writers are often overlooked by standard biographical
works or platforms. This leaves their biographical representtation
limited to small or interactive forms of biography such as short
biographical information on websites of publishing houses or events
and articles on Wikipedia, which are more exposed to inaccurate or
even incorrect information. The main goal of this research could therefore
be expressed by the following question: How, where, and by whom
are which Carinthian Slovenian authors biographized? The presentation
also tackles the question of how authors themselves impact their
biographical representation, either by means of (autobiographical)
writing or by interacting with particular literary systems. In addition,
attention is paid to the diachronic aspect because the presentation
examines whether the changes that Carinthian Slovenians’ literature has
undergone in the last two decades has become evident in their
biographical representations as well.
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