Peter Handke and the Utopia of the Ninth Country

Abstract

The essay by Peter Handke The Dreamer’s Farewell to the Ninth Country (1991) belongs to the text corpus of the Austrian author, where his opinion on the disintegrating Yugoslavia and the resulting war confl icts in the Balkans is included.

The purpose of the paper is to analyze the essay The Dreamer’s Farewell to the Ninth Country to answer the question whether Peter Handke positively or negatively assesses Slovenia’s declaration of independence in 1991 and why he represents such a position in relation to this political event. In such a way, the contrast between the Handke’s and the real (media) reality should be emphasized.