To the origins
It is with some pleasure that we could trace the history of Tyrolean literature back to the Middle Ages and more precisely to the birth of Oswald von Wolkenstein, around 1376, certainly at the castle of Schöneck, not far from Bolzano. His life - eventful! - as a diplomat on behalf of King Sigismund offered him the opportunity to travel extensively and left the imprint of a singular, if not debonair, personality that left a lasting mark on German-speaking culture, especially since he was one of the first authors whose face is known thanks to the portraits that adorn the manuscripts of his work that he had made. The latter, largely autobiographical, recounts his adventures, both real and imaginary, and paints a delightful portrait of a man who was fundamentally free, whether in his actions or in his words, but it also explores with finesse a whole range of feelings, from courtly love to saucy eroticism, from fervent piety to fierce political commitment. A polyglot, and also a composer, Oswald von Wolkenstein was part of the Minnesang
movement, a lyrical song written in German and very popular from the 12th to the 14th century. Some of his poetry is now available in French thanks to the translation work of the Honoré Champion publishing house. We could then mention Virgil Raber (ca. 1490-1552) who, in addition to his talent as a painter, became a director, an actor, and even a playwright, and then his companions Johannes Ulrich von Ferderspill and Franz von Lehrer who also dedicated themselves to the stage during the following centuries. However, the most emblematic figure of the 18th century is to be found in politics: the insurgent Andreas Hofer (1767-1810) impressed history with his fight against the French. He became a symbol of Tyrolean patriotism and undoubtedly influenced the intellectuals and artists who were to define the identity of their region. One of them, and one of the most prolix in this work of collection, could be Beda Weber (Lienz, 1798-1858), student in philosophy brought to become priest. He lived for a long time in Merano where he taught, before moving to Frankfurt where he was buried. His most notable and original work consisted in writing tourist guides on his region, the first of their kind, he collected topographical, historical and statistical data, some of which are still used today, even if it is said that he had the annoying habit of not mentioning his sources. But Beda Weber was also interested in poetry, and while still a student he joined a group that published regional anthologies(Alpenblumenaus Tirol). His work thus embodies the dual vocation of Tyrolean literature of the time, pedagogical and folkloric, and is particularly close to that of Adolf Pichler (Erl, 1819 - Innsbruck, 1900), who for his part was passionate about geology and became known for his writings: epigrams, epics(Fra Serafico, 1879) and above all stories in which he recounted the landscape and the lives of those who lived in it, shepherds, hermits, hunters and other smugglers, without miserabilism or sentimentality. But Adolf Pichler was much more than a simple hiker who discovered the Tischofer cave during his excursions. He was a teacher and a committed person, and his opinions counted, all the more so at the time of the Austrian Revolution of 1848... Much admired during his lifetime, he was coveted by several camps - liberals, German nationalists, even conservatives. At his death, he became the object of a real cult. From folklore, the literature became patriotic, and then two camps were opposed: the "Old Tyroleans" like Karl Domanig (1851-1913) who worried about the disappearance of a certain world and appealed to Catholic values in his trilogy Der Tryoler Freiheitskampf, Die liebe Not and Der Gutsverkauf, whose motto could be "For God, Emperor and Fatherland", and the "Young Tyroleans" whose leading figure was Arthur de Wallpach (1866-1946). This movement adopted the clearly anti-clerical slogan "los-von-Rom" and brought together several writers and artists, including Rudolf Greinz (1866-1946), Anton Renk (1871-1906), who contributed to the journal Der Scherer, and above all Heinrich de Schuller (1865-1955), who co-edited the Jung-Tirol anthology in 1899 and then went on to publish a great deal of work, in particular a novel trilogy, Das Land im Gebirge.Extreme patriotism
In view of the European tensions that Tyrol was witnessing, the Great War was perhaps not a surprise, but its outcome was probably a little more so: the secret agreement concluded in London in 1915 - between England, France, Russia and Italy, whose support they had secured by promising it territories - became official with the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1919. The arrival of Fascism in 1922 was to harden the tone and rhyme with a forced Italianization, thus giving birth to the "katakombenschulen" (catacomb schools) where children were taught German, again in secret. In 1939, Hitler and Mussolini agreed to impose a drastic choice on the inhabitants of South Tyrol: stay and give up their cultural identity, or go into exile in Germany. The Second World War interrupted the exodus, but 75,000 people still left their native soil. During the inter-war period, Tyrolean writers, such as Albert de Trentin (1878-1933), were especially concerned with this unprecedented situation. In his novel German Bride (1921), set in Bolzano, he concludes that a mixed couple - a German wife and an Italian husband - cannot get along. If his somewhat pompous prose has aged rather badly, he is nevertheless the first to explore a theme that will also agitate the work of Joseph Georg Oberkofler (1889-1962), writer and editor, who will become the spokesman for Heimatkunst and then for the so-called "blood and soil" movement(Triumph der Heimat in 1927, Nie stirbt das Land in 1937), two currents definitively associated with National Socialism. The end of the Second World War did not hinder this discourse as brutally as elsewhere, but in the 1950s a "utopia" began to take shape in Switzerland, i.e., a pacifist cohabitation of languages supported by a common love for a geography, for the mountains. This "Rhaetian dream" can be found in the collection Wein aus Rätien by the controversial Hubert Mumelter (1896-1981).
Towards reconciliation
Certainly somewhat calmed by the language agreement signed in 1946 and above all by the autonomy granted to South Tyrol in 1972, the last part of the 20th century confirmed the will to close the eternal debate - to leave or to stay - and to start valuing the richness of multiple origins. Joseph Zoderer's youth is perhaps the embodiment of this renewal: born in 1935 in Merano, his parents decided in 1940 to leave the Tyrol for Graz, Austria, before taking the opposite path in 1949, and he only rejoined them in 1952 after having studied in Switzerland. The fact that he had lived in other countries, returned by choice and then embraced the career of a German-speaking Italian writer, gave him a certain latitude to approach the notions of multiple linguistic identities and belonging in an uninhibited way, although he was reproached for describing the society in which he lived as xenophobic. Since the publication of his novel Die Walsche in 1982 - which also features a mixed couple - he has nevertheless become one of Tyrol's most renowned writers and has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Hermann Lenz Prize in 2003. This societal critique - which often doubles as a critique of previous generations of writers among contemporary authors - is found among many of his peers, including some who use the dialect, such as Felix Mitterer, born in 1948 in Achenkirch. Known for his radio dramas and plays - Kein Platz für idioten was a success in 1977 - he questions the place of foreigners and the fate of the marginalized in an attempt to open up public debate. Another polemical author, Norbert Conrad Kaser, had a late and posthumous posterity... because he was killed by a long illness in 1978 when he was only 31 years old. Nevertheless, he was able to express his thoughts against traditionalist groups in newspapers, often in a sarcastic way, and his poetry - intimate and sensitive - has since been collected, edited, and even translated into Italian, the language he loved so much. We could also mention Gerard Kofler, who writes essays and poetry in both German and Italian, as well as Alois Hotschning, whose novel Les Mains de Léonard was translated into French by Lattès in 1996 and his collection of short stories Midi, soir et matin
by Libella in 2009. Although it is still struggling to make itself known in our language, contemporary Tyrolean literature is nevertheless vast and fertile. Sabine Gruber, who was born in Merano in 1963 and now lives in Vienna, has been publishing since the 1980s and has received attention from German-speaking critics since Die Zumutung in 2003 and Über Nacht in 2007. Perhaps more confidential but highly essential, the writings of Iaco Rigo - novels, plays, stories, poems - represent the quality of current Ladin production. As for Kurt Lanthaler and Luca d'Andrea, they demonstrate that Tyrolean authors now want to explore other universes: both publish detective stories, a series begun in 1993 with Der Tote im Fels for the former, a novel set in South Tyrol with La Sostanza del male(The Essence of Evil published by Denoël, 2017) for the latter. Finally, Bettina Galvani, who is not Tyrolean by birth but attended high school in Bolzano, has been very noticed for her first novel Melancholia, written at 17 years old, and proves by her journey that the borders are now quite open.
