Literature as a European mother tongue: In our series “One is a CROWD”, we introduce you to authors from all over Europe who will be involved in the CROWD omnibus reading tour, taking place from May to July 2016, featuring 100 authors who will be travelling through 15 European countries. We asked them questions about text production, reception and mediation. In case you were wondering what a literary activist from Vienna looks like, meet Jörg Piringer!

 Have you ever participated in collaborative author/reader projects? And if so, what do you find interesting about it?  

I do collaborate very often. Working with other artists is always a challenge because it prompts you to think and work in a direction that might not be the usual one i take when working alone. Collaboration can be exciting, frightening, annoying, fruitful, boring, inspiring, etc. etc. You never know what will be the result or if there will be any result at all. That makes it interesting for me.

What is your favorite literary spot in …? (literary venue, bar, meeting area, city, etc.) Please do give us a link to the website of the spot / area.

I like the monthly volxlesung in Vienna a lot. It’s one of the few open and non competitive places (no one wants to win anything there) to read, perform, drink and have fun with poetry and text in this city.

Which recent literary event fascinated you the most and why? (Please give us the link to the website of the event)

I was very happy to be invited to Los límites del lenguaje 2015 in Monterrey in mexico. I was really fascinated by the lively event and the local and mexican scene that presented works and shared ideas.

How do you feel about readers’ comments and feedback to your texts? Does it affect / alter your subsequent writing?

I try listen to everybody and of course listening to other people changes me and subsequently also my work. But it is not that people usually comment in order to improve my work. It’s more like a discussion and questions.

Anything else that is of interest / importance to you?

…so many things are important…