Des Bischofs Kleid by Luisa Lang Owen is a collection of poems and prose, based on the author’s memoir, Casualty of War: a Childhood Remembered. A visit to Rudolfsgnad/ Knicanin in 2006 reawakened old memories of a stay there,1945 –1948, when the village was a concentration camp. Luisa Lang was nine years old when Yugoslavia cleansed itself of its German minority.
Memories of the innocence of a pre-War childhood converge with those of the traumatic event. The love of home and the insurmountable loss are intertwined. The book, Des Bischofs Kleid, is a lament, not an accusation. The irrevocable loss is redeemed by and act of love: Des Bischofs Kleid.
The powerful woodcuts by Robert Hammerstiel complement the text, and are truly illustrative of the word-images expressed. The graphic design by Doug Snyder provides a fitting foil to unite image and word.
Luisa Lang Owen, born in Yugoslavia before the war, came to America in 1951. A practicing artist who lives in Yellow Springs, she is a professor emerita of art education at Wright State University, Dayton,Ohio. Her memoir, Casualty of War, a Childhood Remembered was published by Texas A&M University Press in 2003.
Robert Hammerstiel, born in Werschetz/Vrsac, Yugoslavia. The internationally renown artist now lives in Ternitz, Austria. His autobiography, Von Ikonen und Ratten, a telling of childhood experiences in concentration camps, 1945–1947.
Doug Snyder, graphic designer, lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
Rezension von Susanne Paulus:
http://www.lambert.co.at/club-der-jungen-donauschwaben/Des-Bischofs-Kleid/Rezension_Des-Bischofs-Kleid_Susanne-Paulus_Deckblatt.pdf
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DES BISCHOFS KLEID (Biskupova odora) Luise Lang Oven je zbirka pesama i proze zasnovana na sećanjima autorke objavljenim u prethodnoj knjizi Casualty of War: a Childhood Remembered (Texas A&M University Press, 2003). Poseta Knićaninu 2006. godine ponovo je probudila autorkine stare uspomene na boravak u njemu od 1945. do 1948. kada je selo bilo koncentracioni logor. Luisa Lang je imala devet godina kada je Jugoslavija očišćena od nemačke manjine.
Sećanja na nevinost detinjstva pre rata podudaraju sa traumatičnim događajima. Prepliću se ljubav prema domu i nepremostivi gubici. Knjiga Des Bischofs Kleid je tužbalica, a nikako nije optužba. Nemerljivi gubitak iskupljen je činom ljubavi: Des Bischofs Kleid.
Moćni drvorezi Roberta Hamerštila dopunjuju tekst i ilustruju reči slikom objedinjene grafičkim dizajnom Doga Snajdera (Doug Snyder).
Umetnica Luisa Lang Oven rođena je u Ostojićevu u Banatu pre drugog svetskog rata, a preselila se u Ameriku 1951. Živi u Jelou Springsu u Ohaju (Yellow Springs, Ohio). Luisa Lang Oven je profesor emerita u oblasti obrazovanja u umetnosti na državnom univerzitetu (Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio).
Robert Hamerštil, međunarodno poznati umetnik, rođen je u Vršcu. Živi i stvara u Austriji. Objavio je autobiografiju O ikonama i pacovima u kojoj govori o događajima iz detinjstva u vreme boravka u u koncentracionim logorima od 1945. do 1947.
Do Snajder, grafički dizajner, živi i stvara u Jelou Springsu u Ohaju.
