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Michael Stavarič © Nicole Kiefer/ÖGfL -
Radmila Petrović © Diego Ledesma Garcia
Wie könnte die Stadt der Zukunft aussehen? Mit welchen (neuen) Problemen könnten ihre Bewohner*innen konfrontiert werden? Wie könnte sich das Stadtbild verändert haben? Mit diesen Fragen beschäftigen sich Michael Stavarič und seine Projektpartnerin, die serbische Poetin Radmila Petrović, im Rahmen ihres gemeinsamen Projekts ›Wien 2040: In welcher Welt wollen wir 2040 leben?‹ in Prosatexten.
Science Fiction, Natur und Künstliche Intelligenz
Wie Michael Stavarič im Gespräch erzählt, habe er immer schon eine Faszination für Science Fiction gehabt. Auch spielen Umweltthemen und ökologische Aspekte in seinen Werken, sowohl im Kinderbuch- als auch im Erwachsenen-Bereich, immer eine große Rolle, denn:
Es ist ein Thema, das uns alle sehr viel angehen wird, rund um den Klimawandel, rund um grundsätzliche große Veränderungen in all den Paradigmen, die uns betreffen. Dementsprechend kann man sich gar nicht genug Gedanken machen, wie man vielleicht auch als Schriftsteller und Schriftstellerin irgendetwas thematisieren, in einer Art und Weise aufgreifen kann, vielleicht mit ein paar utopischen Ansätzen versehen, dass das wiederum vielleicht für Leute, die den Text lesen, zu weiteren Gedankengängen führt und anregt, dass man sich wirklich damit auseinandersetzt.
Michael Stavarič
Während die Natur auch für seine Projektpartnerin Radmila Petrović ein wichtiges Thema ihrer Lyrik ist, hatte sie mit anderen Themengebieten der Ausschreibung ›Imagine Dignity‹ und auch mit der Prosaform bislang wenige Berührungspunkte:
I don’t write stories, nor do I write about something that will be, especially I never thought I would write about AI. Nature was always a part of my writing, but other topics really weren’t.
Radmila Petrović
Doch nach dem Motto »Why not? Let’s try something I wouldn’t normally do« sagte sie Michael Stavarič, den sie zuvor nur einmal kurz auf der Frankfurter Buchmesse kennengelernt hatte, kurzerhand zu.
Wien als Bühne
In den beiden Prosatexten von Michael Stavarič und Radmila Petrović könne »im Grunde jeder schreiben worüber er mag«, der Ausgangspunkt beider Texte, der sie miteinander verbinde, sei jedoch die Stadt Wien.
Diese Menschen leben in Wien und sind mit einer Umgebung und Problemen konfrontiert, die grundsätzlich alle betreffen – und ich hoffe, dass es da einfach weitere Schnittpunkte in den Texten geben wird.
Michael Stavarič
Während Michael Stavaričs Protagonistin Wienerin ist, lässt Radmila Petrovič, die selbst im Jahr 2022 dank eines Stipendiums einige Wochen in der österreichischen Hauptstadt verbrachte, ihre der LGBTQ-Bewegung angehörenden Protagonistinnen auf der Suche nach Akzeptanz von ihrer Heimat Belgrad nach Wien ziehen:
I wanted my protagonists to start from home – from Belgrade – and then go to Vienna. I was more familiar with that perspective than if they were someone who had always lived in Vienna; then I would not know how they think and how they have lived.
Radmila Petrović
Utopische Momente und (neue) Probleme
Beide Projektpartner*innen zeichnen in ihren Texten ein utopisches Wien. Während Michael Stavarič viele Einfälle in Bezug auf eine dem Klimawandel gerechtere Architektur und Veränderungen im Stadtbild integriert, die wohl 2040 so noch nicht existieren werden, liegt das utopische Moment in Radmila Petrovićs Text in der Überwindung der kapitalistischen Lebensform:
Most importantly for my story is that Vienna and its citizens have embraced a socialist way of thinking, similar to that in the former Yugoslavia, in the sense that there is no longer private ownership, but everything is communal.
Radmila Petrović
Auch die Lösung der ökologischen Probleme, mit denen wir heute konfrontiert sind, sei dank KI in ihrer Story zum Greifen nahe. Doch es zeichnen sich auch die Schattenseiten der neuen Technologie ab, die plötzlich auch für menschliche Beziehungen zuständig sei:
AI is now expected to solve problems in interpersonal relationships and human souls in general – which doesn’t seem like an easy task, and the story tackles and deals with these challenges.
Radmila Petrović
Während Radmila Petrović also durchaus auch mögliche Schattenseiten der KI aufzeigt, sind es in Michael Stavaričs Text die Auswirkungen der Klimakrise, die die Bewohner*innen der Stadt zu spüren bekommen. Denn die Feuerameisen, »die wahren Herrscher dieses Planeten, wenn man nur die Anzahl der Lebewesen betrachtet«, breiten sich immer weiter aus:
Wenn die Feuerameisen beschließen, die Städte zu überrennen, wird man sie nicht aufhalten können – wahrscheinlich. Meine Protagonistin überlegt, wie es gelingen könnte.
Michael Stavarič
Welche Ideen Michael Stavaričs Protagonistin hat und wie Radmila Petrovićs Protagonistinnen schließlich in Wien zurechtkommen, wird erstmals auf der Leipziger Buchmesse gelüftet. Dort werden die beiden, die aufgrund der sprachlichen Barriere den Text der/des Partner*in ebenfalls noch nicht gelesen haben, einander und den Text der/des anderen im Rahmen einer Veranstaltung zur Ausschreibung ›Imagine Dignity‹ endlich kennenlernen.
Alle Informationen zu der Veranstaltung am 23. März 2024 auf der Traduki-Kafana-Bühne sind hier zu finden: https://www.leipziger-buchmesse.de/pco/de/buchmesse/65a92c85f35b171c5d12f3b9
Das ganze Gespräch mit Michael Stavarič: https://www.literaturdialoge.at/folge-21-wien-2040-in-welcher-welt-wollen-wir-2040-leben/
10 Fragen an Radmila Petrović
NK: When Michael asked you to work together with him, what did interest you about the call’s topics and this setting in general?
RP: To be honest, when Michael messaged me on Instagram suggesting we write about these topics, I thought, »Oh God, AI, 2040, what’s this?« I was in Berlin or maybe Munich, definitely on a book tour organized by my German publisher Voland&Quist. I was in a hurry, worried about being on time for one of the readings, and I forgot that Michael had messaged me at all. Then he messaged me again, asking if my silence meant no, and I explained that I was in a hurry and apologized. In the meantime, my attitude somehow changed, and I told myself, »Why not? Let’s try something I wouldn’t normally do.«
NK: Have you occupied yourself with these or one of these topics in your prior works?
RP: No, not really. That’s why I was skeptical at first: I don’t write stories, nor do I write about something that will be, especially I never thought I would write about AI. Nature was always a part of my writing, but other topics really weren’t. Somehow I always thought I shouldn’t make up too much, that I wouldn’t be convincing in that, that I should stick to what I know.
NK: Your text focuses on cities, both Belgrade and Vienna. Was it clear from the beginning that these two have to be the setting of your text?
RP: I wanted my protagonists to start from home – from Belgrade – and then go to Vienna. I was more familiar with that perspective than if they were someone who had always lived in Vienna; then I would not know how they think and how they have lived.
NK: You have studied in Belgrade, the city appears in some of your poems. What does Belgrade mean to you?
RP: Belgrade is the city that gave me a chance, the city I came to pursue my dreams and goals, which fortunately changed over time. Because I came here to become a businesswoman, and then I became a poet. Belgrade was the place where I met people who helped me when I needed it, who inspired me and helped me find my happiness – and it wasn’t in the office and business suits, but in writing poetry.
NK: In 2022 you had a residency in Vienna and spent some weeks here. How have you experienced the city? How do your protagonists experience it when they are arriving in your 2040 version of Vienna?
RP: I had a wonderful time at the MuseumsQuartier’s International Artist-in-Residence program in Vienna. Vienna stayed in my memory as a city that is big enough, not too big, but just big enough to have plenty of events and everything, yet without that massiveness that I don’t like. I was amazed at how much Vienna cares about literature and culture and art in general. I thought I would practice my English there, but it wasn’t possible because every third person on the street speaks „Naš“ (BCHS), and it’s those people who are originally from the countries of the former Yugoslavia who opened Vienna and its beauties to me.
Most importantly for my story is that Vienna and its citizens have embraced a socialist way of thinking, similar to that in the former Yugoslavia, in the sense that there is no longer private ownership, but everything is communal. I think that’s the most important thing I can say without spoiling it for those who will read the story.
NK: What are the similarities and differences between the cities in your text?
RP: When it comes to Vienna, I haven’t focused as much on the present, but rather on Vienna in the future. As for Belgrade, I’ve dealt with it in the sense that the protagonists comment on and reflect on the living conditions they had there and what they would have if they continued to live there in 2040. Let’s say I was less optimistic when it comes to the future of Belgrade.
NK: In your story technology helps averting an ecological catastrophe. What’s the role of KI in your text – does it only appear as savior of humankind or are there also negative aspects/ side effects?
RP: In my story, ecological issues and problems we are familiar with are being solved, and the question of the ecology of the soul is being opened. AI is now expected to solve problems in interpersonal relationships and human souls in general – which doesn’t seem like an easy task, and the story tackles and deals with these challenges.
NK: The protagonists of your story belong to the LGBT community. In your text, has their situation improved by the year 2040 or are they still confronted with hatred and discrimination?
RP: In my story, Vienna in 2040 is far beyond a place where people are still discriminated against based on their belonging to the LGBT community. Unfortunately, Belgrade isn’t.
NK: Have you done such a collaborative writing project before or was it your first time?
RP: This is the first time, and I am very grateful to my colleague Michael for choosing me as his partner. The project idea was for writers living in Austria to invite someone from outside to encourage networking among artists, and that’s a very nice and constructive idea. It is important to say that we wrote our own stories separately, but of course, we commented on each other’s progress and what we were writing about. I just want to mention that I wrote in my language, Serbian, and that the translation into German was done by Maša Dabić.
NK: What do you enjoy about working with others in terms of literature?
RP: In this particular case, it will be very interesting to see how we responded to the given topic. Whoever reads the collection of stories that emerges from this project, I’m sure they will be thrilled by the diversity of stories and ideas. How differently we envision that »dignified future« that, I hope, we will truly be living by 2040.