Zeitgeist: Contemporary Literature from Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein
The project Zeitgeist D.C., organized by the Austrian Cultural Forum, the Embassy of Switzerland, and the Goethe Institute Washington, makes the richness of the German language accessible to English speakers. It presents an overview of and information about leading contemporary authors and current trends in the literary scene of Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland.
On the project’s website zeitgeistdc.org users can find a fine selection of authors and playwrights, as well as literary news items from the German-speaking countries of Europe. In May, under the patronage of this exceptional project, numerous staged readings of German literature took place at various venues in Washington D.C. Among this literature was also Chirping Hill (Grillparz) from young Austrian playwright Thomas Arzt. The reading of Chirping Hill, which deals with urban disconnection from nature and homeland, took place in the atrium of the Austrian Embassy in Washington D.C.
"Chirping Hill" at the Austrian Embassy, June 25, 2012