Friederike Mayröcker writes poetry-novels that slide in and out of the present and the past, slip from reality into fantasy, disorient the reader so he has to really work for the writer's intention. According to the writer, time is arbitrary; her life and work are made up of pictures.  Confused? Needless to say, she doesn’t write anything you will be reading on the beach.

The Austrian Mayröcker is part of a group of controversial and influential Viennese writers including her longtime partner Ernst Jandl (who died in 2000) and Elfriede Jelinek. Like these other writers,  Mayröcker has had her hand in all types of literary creations, including poetry, novels, radio plays and even opera libretti. Read Reise durch die Nacht, or Night Train, for a complete immersion in her unique thought process.