The Austrian National Library (ÖNB) acquires the literary legacy of Thomas Bernhard for 2.1 million euros. The Ministry of Culture (BMKÖS) contributes 1.6 million euros, 500,000 euros comes from the ÖNB itself a press release. Bernhard’s work is “part of world literature”.
“Thomas Bernhard has created a unique literary cosmos in which language, style and worldview are inextricably intertwined,” says Bernhard Fetz, director of the literature archive and literature museum of the Austrian National Library. The estate has been transferred almost completely and covers Bernhard’s entire literary output, including all published and unpublished works and surviving correspondence – such as letters from Ingeborg Bachmann, Heinrich Böll, Elias Canetti, Peter Handke and Bernhard’s lover Hedwig Stavianicek.
“The creation of the works can be traced”
The stock of works consists of nearly 30,000 sheets of manuscripts, hand-corrected typescripts, and corrected proofs. The creation and receipt of the works can be traced on the basis of correspondence with publishers. “The estate provides an insight into the workshop in which Bernhard’s themes such as the repression of the National Socialist past and the relationship between mind and body in the face of death are elaborated,” explains Fetz.
Previously, the ÖNB had tried for years to take over the estate, and Secretary of State for Culture Andrea Mayer (Greens) resumed negotiations immediately after taking office. The price at which one of “the most important German-speaking estates of the 20th century” was bought was based on an independent report commissioned by the ÖNB. “Big thanks to the negotiating team and Dr. Peter Fabjan, who has cared for his brother’s legacy professionally and with great care for more than three decades and has made a significant contribution to the international impact of this unique author,” said Mayer.
Estate must also be presented to the public
According to Mayer, the estate now comes with a mission: “namely to examine Bernhard’s work in its genesis, to question it again and again on its topicality and to present it to the public interested in literature in exhibitions, special shows, lectures, discussions and other formats. The Museum of Literature is intended to serve as a place for “further encounters with Thomas Bernhard’s literary legacy,” according to the press release.
Source: Krone
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