Poetics of Relational and Intersectional Identities: African-Diasporic Writers in Austria

Vienna is colorful, Vienna speaks all languages of the world, writes Dr. Ishraga Mustafa Hamid from Sudan, who defines herself as a Black Viennese. And I sit there to write, read, meet friends The coffee house is my second home, so to speak, says Tarek el Tayeb from Sudan/Egypt. What would happen to the Austrian Alps if natural resources were found there? asks Fiston Mwanza Mujila from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Why do Viennese deny me the right to speak my German? wonders Njideka Iroh from Austria, the UK, and Nigeria in her poem Speech-Less? How can Mihret Kebede from Ethiopia, who writes and performs in Amharic, enter the Austrian literary market? What connects the Sudanese writer Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin who flew from home to the Viennese physician Erwin Schrödinger? What links the Nile, the River Congo, and the Danube, and how does war factor into these contexts? What can literature do during the tightening of borders between Africa and Europe and the growth of far-right movements in Europe, including Austria? What can African-diasporic texts do against racist violence and racialised narratives in Austria targeting people who are here to stay? as Precious Chiebonam Nnebedum from Nigeria and Austria writes. This project will answer these questions building on novels, collections of poems, slams, plays, (semi)autobiographies, and librettos written and performed, e.g. in Amharic, Arabic, English, Nigerian Pidgin English, French, and German by writers from Africa who moved to Austria either by choice or by force. Some of them have been contributing to the Austrian literary scene for generations, but, regrettably, until today, no comprehensive research project has spotlighted and brought their works together. The project will achieve the following: 1. Adding Austria to the map of African-diasporic literatures and cultures in Europe; 2. Addressing issues of African-European relations and complex identities; 3. Designing context-sensitive and multilingual methods to study this wealth of texts that plant African-diasporic memories in Austria; 4. Contributing to debates in African diaspora literary studies in Europe and related fields such as African Studies, Migration Studies, African European Studies, Black Studies, and Studies of Black Europe; and 5. Developing new theories for the study of diasporic literatures in and from Austria. We will: 1. carry out continuous documentation to include new texts; 2. read and analyse the texts patiently and ethically; 3. conduct respectful interviews with authors across Austria; and 4. explore the triangle production- circulation and reception of these works. This approach will enable several public humanities events we will organise to ensure public value and create opportunities for members of the Austrian public to encounter and engage with the authors, literary texts, and performances within this academically and socially relevant research project.