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Posted May 11, 2007.

Vienna City Library Hosts Literary Erotica Hotline

The City Library of Vienna, Austria, is offering callers a spicy earful of erotic readings from 19th- and 20th-century books in its “Secret Collection” through May 31. A spinoff from a May 6 program of music, art, and dance called “The Long Night of Love” held at the Hotel Orient in the city center, the library’s erotica hotline features Austrian film and stage actress Anne Bennent reading sexy excerpts from Austrian poet Hans Carl Artmann (1921–2000), American modernist writer Djuna Barnes (1892–1982), French novelist Rétif de la Bretonne (1734–1806), Swiss writer Gottfried Keller (1819–1890), and even love letters by German socialist Ferdinand Lassalle (1825–1864).

The library’s hotline was set up in cooperation with the Aktionsradius Wien cultural organization, which also put on the Hotel Orient program. Callers pay the equivalent of 53 cents (U.S.) per minute, which—contrary to an Associated Press report—just covers connection costs. The library originally wanted to offer the calls for free but found it would be too expensive, spokesperson Suzie Wong told the ORF broadcasting network May 10, adding that the service logged 158 calls totaling 660 minutes in the first few days.

The “Secret Collection” of erotica consists of materials donated to the library by Viennese coffee brewer Eduard Nikola (1823–1905) and Felix Batsy (1877–1952), chief administrative officer of the town of Wiener Neustadt. It also includes erotic photos and postcards.

Posted May 11, 2007.