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Two continents, two writers, two contemporaries. One has been dead for 20 years; the other traveled to Linz from the US to give a reading in his honor.

Thomas Bernhard was born on February 9, 1931, and died in Gmunden on February 12, 1989. His enormous literary oeuvre brought him worldwide fame and, not infrequently, outraged headlines. Quotations from his play “Heldenplatz” about Austria and National Socialism caused a scandal even before the work’s 1988 premiere at Vienna’s Burgtheater.

Louis Begley was born on October 6, 1933 in Poland. In 1947 his family emigrated to the United States. In “Wartime Lies”, his long delayed literary debut, Begley describes his experiences as a Polish Jew under Nazi rule. His novel “Schmidt” was made into a film featuring Jack Nicholson in the title role. This prominent American writer is an enthusiastic Bernhard reader.

In honor of Bernhard, Louis Begley came to Linz on the 20th anniversary of his death. During the course of this unforgettable literary event, Begley demonstrated his great admiration for Bernhard and also read from his own works. An audience of 250 attended.


WHAT // Reading
WHEN // February 12, 2009
WHERE // Main Auditorium, Linz Art University, Kollegiumgasse 2, 4020 Linz

Produced jointly by StifterHaus (OÖ Kultur) and the International Thomas Bernhard Society


Free admission