Devoted to collecting the finest Jewish writing from around the world, the Jewish Writing in the Contemporary World series consists of anthologies, by country, that are designed to present to the English-speaking world authors and works deserving international consideration. As a series, the books permit a broad examination of the international crosscurrents in Jewish thought and culture. Contemporary Jewish Writing in Austria presents a gathering of writers from several generations who have published a remarkable range of works in recent decades. The result is a diverse portrait of Jewish experience in Austria since the Second World War. Dagmar C. G. Lorenz has assembled an extraordinary roster of literary talents, ranging from authors born in the early decades of this century to writers born after the Shoah. The volume maps a complex tradition of Jewish discourse marked by a profound awareness of the literary past, by the failure of a long-anticipated Austrian-Jewish symbiosis, and by the unparalleled tragedy of the Shoah. It is a modern tradition that has made an essential contribution to Austria's literary history while remaining, in Lorenz's words, "distinct and unassimilated."
