Next week, Literaturlenz: Reading with Authors from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria is coming to Chicago. This annual event takes place at the Goethe-Institut and features exclusive readings by an incredible array of international authors. I had the chance to interview one of the visiting authors, Maja Haderlap, about her tenure as the Head of Dramaturgy at the Municipal Theater in Klagenfurt, her love of languages and what inspired her to write her painstakingly beautiful debut novel, Angel of Oblivion. Interview after the jump.

Your debut novel, Angel of Oblivion, is a painstaking and emotional account of the Slovenian-speaking minority in Austria during and after World War II. This story is unique in that many seem to overlook it, but your novel shines a profound new light on this subject. What inspired you to pen this novel and why?

I grew up with many of the stories mentioned in the novel, and most of my life, I have been engaged with the forgotten story of the Slovene minority of Carinthia. At some point, I had to write it. I felt able to undertake this topic.

Read the full interview in ChicagoNow here: http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-literati/2014/02/maja-haderlap-sheds-light-on-her-love-of-translation-for-chicago-literati/

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