Lili Novy – Throughout Time. Across Borders

Multimedia presentation based on texts by Tatjana Gregoritsch and poetry by Lili Novy with live original musical accompaniment and Lado Jakša’s photography.

At the heart of this multimedia project is Lado Jakša's video recording that traces Lili Novy's footsteps in Ljubljana’s Old Town, complemented with the Slovenian poet’s poems and live music. All three media outlets flow seamlessly into one another through balanced dramaturgy. Tatjana Gregoritsch, author of a book about Lili Novy published by Mohorjeva založba publishing house, reads excerpts from her essay on the poet. 

The bi-national project is an attempt to form an artistic synthesis between the author and translator. Lili Novy was born – as Elisabeth Von Haumeder – in 1885, in the Austrian town of Wallersberg. Her aristocratic family was multiethnic; her father was German, while her mother was Slovenian. She lived mostly in Ljubljana. She became known for translating the works of some of the best Slovenian writers and poets into German, most notably France Prešeren. As a poet and prose writer Lili Novy gained recognition and respect from the Slovenian intellectual elite of that time. In Austria, however, she was virtually unknown. Using various artistic and scientific approaches, the project highlights her personality at a time when, during the period between the two world wars, Lili Novy co-shaped and partook in the cultural life of Ljubljana.

The project aims to inform our understanding of the common spiritual and artistic roots between Austria and Slovenia as one-time parts of the multilingual Habsburg Monarchy, which, after decades of separation, have been reunited as two of the countries comprising the EU, linguistically separated yet close geographic neighbours.