Many Hungarian writers (including László Darvasi, Krisztina Tóth, and János Térey) have spent a month in Krems, and Austrian authors have opportunities to pursue their work in Pécs as part of the residence program. After the interruptions caused by Covid, the two residencies were revived in 2022. The first sign of this was the arrival in Pécs of Sandra Hubinger, who took up residence in the guest house of the Zsolnay Cultural Quarter on 1 March.

Sandra Hubinger was born in 1974 in the Austrian town of Wels, but she grew up near Krems. She studied history, German philosophy, and linguistics, and she spent extended periods in England and France. Since 2004, she has being living in Vienna.

Hubinger is best known and widely esteemed as a poet, but she also writes prose and is often involved in theater projects. Her 2016 book Kaum Gewicht und Rückenwind was met with great enthusiasm and interest. In 2019, she published another book, Wir gehen. In 2018, she was awarded the prestigious H. C. Artmann Grant.

The ULNÖ was impressed by Hubinger’s work and selected her for the residence program in Pécs in 2022. As she writes in her work plan, in her recent short prose texts, she has attempted to describe how the lyrical self manages in the complex system of society and how the individual and the surrounding community interact. The themes of her writings, not surprisingly, cover almost everything, from childhood to generational differences, patriarchal relations, the environment, the roles of women, relationships among people and the ways in which people live in lonely isolation.

Hubinger was very pleased to arrive in Pécs, and having now seen the charming little island of the Zsolnay Quarter, she is confident that she will be able to fulfill her goals as a writer here.   

As another part of the exchange program, a Hungarian writer will travel to Krems later this year, probably in October after a call for applications.