Eine Sprache – viele Horizonte… Ein Beitrag zur Literaturgeographie.

The text introduces the anthology Eine Sprache – viele Horizonte. Die Osterweiterung der deutschsprachigen Literatur. Porträts einer neuen europäischen Literatur (One language – many horizons. The eastward expansion of German literature. Portraits of a new European literature), which was published in Vienna in 2008 on the basis of papers read at a conference on the subject and enhanced by essays by literary and cultural critics from Germany, Italy, Austria and Switzerland. Also mentioning the dedicated literary awards for writers of immigrant literature in the three German-speaking countries (the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize and the schreiben zwischen den kulturen prize), the various literary-sociological conditions for the literary production of writers coming from other countries are discussed. These, as well as differences in immigration policies, integration possibilities and ultimately – seen pluricentrically – linguistic differences, justify a basic division of the anthology into three parts, which however is definitely not meant to reflect the claims of national literature. Also addressed is the problematic term “migrant or immigrant literature” (which most authors fiercely reject), and finally, to mention it in advance, the anthology makes the point that this eastward expansion of German literature not only enriches it but in fact, since the upheaval of the 1990s, represents its most important constituent part. The plurilingualism and pluricentric culture of these writers justifies describing them as a new generation of Europeans.