Sigurd Paul Scheichl: Literatur in Österreich und Südtirol. Ein Panorama in 30 Aufsätzen ed. by Michael Pilz and Dirk Rose (review)

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• Sigurd Paul Scheichl: Literatur in Österreich und Südtirol. Ein Panorama in 30 Aufsätzen ed. by Michael Pilz and Dirk Rose
• Raymond L. Burt

Michael Pilz and Dirk Rose, eds., Sigurd Paul Scheichl: Literatur in Österreich und Südtirol. Ein Panorama in 30 Aufsätzen. Innsbruck: Innsbruck UP, 2022. 497 pp.

Esteemed literary scholars approaching the end of their careers may be honored by a Festschrift, in which colleagues, mentees, and former students publish their own scholarly contributions as a sign of their gratitude and appreciation. Prompted by the eightieth birthday of Sigurd Paul Scheichl, Emeritus Professor of Austrian Literary History and General Literary Studies at the University of Innsbruck, the editors of this volume have chosen to take a different path by publishing, in their “Panorama,” thirty essays selected from his more than three hundred. This choice highlights Scheichl’s long and productive career, while providing a valuable contribution to current and future scholars of Austrian literary studies. Scheichl specialized in the genre of the essay and, according to the editors, understood it as a medium of “sprachlichen Widerstands” that challenges the reader through thought-provoking questions. For example, the title of the first essay begins with the question “Konnte Grillparzer Deutsch?” This approach, together with his close readings of the literary texts, contribute to the continued relevance of these essays, whose publication dates span four decades. Schleichl not only focused his attention on “canonical” authors, such as Franz Grillparzer, Johann Nestroy, Adalbert Stifter, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Elias Canetti, and Karl Kraus, but also detailed the contributions of writers rarely covered in [End Page 141] academic circles, thus providing a richer understanding of the complexity of literary history and its diverse scope. One striking example is the essay “Vergessene Träger des Großen Österreichischen Staatspreise in den 50er Jahren,” in which he delves into the reasons that most of the awardees enjoyed relatively little success. This volume also includes topics representing his research interests: the complex question of the canon and literary history in Austrian literature, the role of dialect and language in this history, antisemitism, Austrian national identity, and Tyrolian literary development. The essays are divided into four sections, the first six falling under the heading “Kanon—Tradition—Literaturgeschichtsschreibung.” A short review cannot discuss all essays but mentioning a few provides a glimpse into the richness of this collection. “Österreichische Literaturgeschichten—Konstrukte as ‘vaterländischer Notwendigkeit’? Der Beitrag der Literaturhistoriker zur Nationswerdung der Österreicher” was first published in 2009 based on a 2002 lecture and serves as a guide to and commentary on the major attempts to construct an Austrian literary history, beginning with Nagl/Zeidler/Castle’s 1899 Deutsch-Österreichische Literaturgeschichte and continuing through 2008. Scheichl states, “Selbstverständlich ist auch jede Literaturgeschichte Österreichs ein Konstrukt” (39), and his analysis follows the difficulties and motivations through the decades. Scheichl sees the main problem in creating an adequate description of Austrian literature as the inability to integrate the literary histories created by German scholars. He concludes that what is needed would be a literary history written from an Austrian perspective with homage to the Austrian literary canon and an acknowledgment of the religious, political, social and linguistic developments in Austria. Scheichl concludes, perhaps with a wink: “Eine solche Literaturgeschichte würde ich gerne benützen; schreiben möchte ich sie freilich nicht” (56).

The second section, “Epochen—Daten—Zusammenhänge,” offers essays on the First World War in literature and Austrian literature between 1945 and 1966 as well as two essays on the development of literature in South Tyrol. His essay “Judentum, Antisemitismus und Literatur in Österreich 1918–1938” provides a detailed discussion of how the “Hexenkessel des Judenhasses” is reflected in novels, dramas, feuilletons, and newspapers of the First Republic. Traces of antisemitism in literature and among the writers of this period are surprisingly difficult to find, even when perusing the popular literature of the time. Beginning with authors with antisemitic views, the essay examines works by Robert Hohlbaum, Mirko Jelusich, and Karl Paumgartten, often [End Page 142] finding ambiguous and contradicting attitudes toward Jews. Next, in works by prominent Austrian-Jewish authors, such as Hermann Broch, Joseph Roth, Karl Tschuppik, and Anton...