Image: Volker Weihbold
His list of publications includes almost forty titles, and the list of his exhibitions includes a good dozen. His contributions to the Czech-Austrian cultural dialogue are undisputed. The name Richard Wall has been part of the core of the Upper Austrian art and literature scene since the 1980s. However, the broad impact of his work is limited.
This may be due, firstly, to the fact that Wall is more of an artist of subtle spaces than a magician of the superficially spectacular; Secondly, the literary forms he prefers rarely end up on bestseller lists: poems, short prose, travel sketches, essays, reflections and impressions in diary form. And thirdly, Richard Wall’s private life is not suitable for side-eye voyeurism.
His leitmotif is home
He was born on December 7, 1953 in Engerwitzdorf. His father was a farm worker, his mother a day laborer and housewife. Wall still lives in Au (Engerwitzdorf) and in Langschlag (Lower Austria). “Home” runs like a leitmotif through his work, neither in an idyllic nor one-sided demonizing representation, but as an attentive perception of one’s own living space. Richard Wall’s interest in art awoke at an early age and he completed his studies with a Mag.art. away. He has been married to his wife Monika since 1986, with whom he has two daughters. On the occasion of Richard Wall’s 70th birthday, a remarkable commemorative publication entitled “Drawn into a circle on the echo of the waves” has now been published, edited by the Linz Romanist and Germanist Markus Vorauer.
Around 50 companions, friends and colleagues – from Rudolf Habringer to Bodo Hell to Therese Eisenmann – express their appreciation for Wall, whose creative power is unbroken. Three books were published in 2023 alone, the haiku cycle “eleftheria”, the poetry volume “Locker vom Hocker” (with graphic works) and “In Motion”, a collection of essays, mainly on literature and art.
Not at all loose from the stool
The texts in “Locker vom Hocker. Poems in Spiritus” are not quite as “loose” as the book title suggests. The “eight-line quatrains” follow strict formal models, albeit with ironic accompanying tones: “Oh how beautiful and numerous the / people’s heads. / But their contents cannot be / relied on, chamber pots / on the other hand do not disappoint, nor / not firewood logs. I prefer I braided onions and garlic.”
Book tips for Richard Wall: “Loose from the stool. Poems in alcohol”Provincial Library, 123 pages, 19 euros “eleftheria. Haikus”Edition Tandem, 60 pages, 19 euros “In motion. Approaches and encounters”, Löcker Verlag, 293 pages, 19.80 euros Markus Vorauer (ed.): “Drawing the circle on the echo of the waves. Memories and homages to the 70s by Richard Wall”, Löcker Verlag, 230 pages, 19.80 euros
Reading: Richard Wall reads from the latest works. StifterHaus Linz, 7.30 p.m. Moderation: Markus Vorauer, music: Fairy Tunes.
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I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
