Doom and Bloom: Friederike Mayröcker's Anthropocene Lateness

Thomas, Nicola (2023) Doom and Bloom: Friederike Mayröcker's Anthropocene Lateness. Austrian Studies, 30. pp. 99-112. ISSN 1350-7532

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Abstract

This article argues that the work of Friederike Mayröcker brings into focus the idea of a 'lateness' distinctive to the Anthropocene. A close reading of the poem 'tropisches Knabenkraut, wild, im Schnabel' demonstrates how interspecies encounters lead to the coming together of asynchronous Umwelten. This raises complex questions about temporality, in relation to language, writing and the human lifespan, Mayröcker's own 'late style' and the notion of a specific lateness present in Anthropocene theory. Extending existing ideas about lateness and late style, the article concludes that Mayröcker's work registers and reveals the distinctive belatedness of the Anthropocene.