Artistic perspectives of interpretation in the Slovak cultural space: A case study of Irena Brežná

Abstract

The article documents the reception of the literary work of Irena Brežná (b. 1950), a Slovak-Swiss writer, journalist, and active feminist who writes in the German language. It focuses on the perception of her work in the Slovak cultural milieu, discussing in particular the translations of her books and analysing the theatrical adaptations of her novels Najlepší zo všetkých svetov ([The best of all worlds] 2009) and Nevďačná cudzinka ([The Thankless Foreigner] 2014, 2016), as well as the dramatisation of the text List môjmu čiernemu synovi ([Letter to my black son] 1988). In addition, it analyses the themes that the selected adaptations deal with and the levels of meaning that are implied in them in the context of the current social climate. Central here is the documentary Profesionálna cudzinka ([Professional stranger] 2016) by the director and theatre scholar Anna Grusková, which, through the interconnection of the private, professional and artistic life of I. Brežná paints a complex picture of her personality. Themes of physical and internal (e)migration, otherness, and the relationship to languages come to the fore.

Keywords

• irena brežná
• reception
• theatrical adaptation
• documentary film