Arnold Stadler (born 1954) is a German writer,

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

ist and translator.

Life

He was born on 9 April 1954 in

Meßkirch Meßkirch (; Swabian: ''Mässkirch'') is a town in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The town was the residence of the counts of Zimmern, widely known through Count Froben Christoph's ''Zimmern Chronicle'' (1559–1 ...

in the district of

Sigmaringen Sigmaringen (Swabian German, Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen (district), Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowne ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Stadler grew up on a farm in Rast, a small village adjoining

Sauldorf Sauldorf is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe afte ...

, a neighboring village of his birthplace Meßkirch. Stadler studied catholic theology in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, German philology at

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...

and

Köln Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

, ending with a doctoral degree (Dr. phil.). The first serious and prominent recommendation regarding his works came 1994 of

Martin Walser Martin Walser (; born 24 March 1927) is a German writer. Life Walser was born in Wasserburg am Bodensee, on Lake Constance. His parents were coal merchants, and they also kept an inn next to the train station in Wasserburg. He described the e ...

(

Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

No. 31 from 1 August 1994). The partial autobiographically affected works play frequently in his region of origin (''Heimat''), the landscape between the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

and the

Lake of Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Lake ...

. The change of this rurally shaped area and its homelessness (''Heimatlosigkeit'') are recurring topics in his literary works.

Literature awards and distinctions

*1989 Literature Award (''Literaturförderpreis'') of the

Jürgen Ponto Jürgen Ponto (17 December 1923 Bad Nauheim, Hesse - 30 July 1977 Frankfurt am Main) was a German banker and since 1969 chairman of the Dresdner Bank board of directors. Previously, he had worked as a lawyer. He was murdered by members of the Red ...

Stiftung *1994

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include ''Demian'', ''Steppenwolf (novel), Steppenwolf'', ''Siddhartha (novel), Siddhartha'', and ''The Glass Bead Game'', ...

Award (''Förderpreis'') for ''Feuerland'' *1995

Nicolas Born Prize The Nicolas Born Prize, awarded by the German state of Lower Saxony, is a literary prize given since 2000 in honour of the writer Nicolas Born. It is awarded to notable German-language writers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The main prize ...

of the Hubert Burda Stiftung *1996

Thaddäus-Troll-Preis Thaddäus-Troll-Preis is a literary prize awarded by the ''Förderkreis deutscher Schriftsteller in Baden-Württemberg'', an organization that supports and sponsors writers in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The prize is awarded annually ...

*1996 Culture Prize "Der Feldweg" of the Museum Society

Wald, Baden-Württemberg Wald is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after R ...

*1997 Mark Brandenburg Scholarship for literature (''Märkisches Stipendium für Literatur'') *1998

Marie Luise Kaschnitz Prize The Marie Luise Kaschnitz Prize (''Marie Luise Kaschnitz-Preis'') is a German literary prize, awarded approximately every two years by the Tutzing Protestant Academy Evangelische Akademie Tutzing. It recognizes the lifetime achievements of writers ...

*1998/1999

Stadtschreiber von Bergen The Stadtschreiber von Bergen ('City clerk of Bergen') is an annual German literary award. The prize money is €20,000 with one year of free living in the town clerk's house in Bergen-Enkheim, Frankfurt, "An der Oberpforte 4". It was the first St ...

*1999

Alemannischer Literaturpreis Alemannischer Literaturpreis is a German literary prize. It was established in 1981 and is awarded to authors in the Alemannic regions of Germany. The prize was originally awarded every two years but changed to every three years in 1987. The winner ...

*1999

Georg Büchner Prize The Georg Büchner Prize (german: link=no, Georg-Büchner-Preis) is the most important literary prize for German language literature, along with the Goethe Prize. The award is named after dramatist and writer Georg Büchner, author of ''Woyzeck'' ...

*2002 Medal for Merit of the state of

*2002 Participating

Max Kade Dr. h.c. Max Kade (13 October 1882, Steinbach near Schwäbisch Hall, Württemberg, Germany – 15 July 1967, Davos, Switzerland) was an emigrant from Germany to New York City who became successful in the pharmaceutical industry. Kade was committed ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

at the

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

*2004

Stefan Andres Stefan Paul Andres (26 June 1906 – 29 June 1970) was a German novelist. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. As the Nazi regime flexed its power, Andres moved away to Italy in 1937, returning to Germany 13 years later. He ...

Prize *2004/2005 Scholarship holder of the International Künstlerhaus Villa Concordia in

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

*2006

Honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

of the Freien Universität Berlin (Faculty for historical and cultural sciences; Seminar for catholic theology; Laudatorin:

Annette Schavan Annette Schavan (; born 10 June 1955) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She was the Federal Minister of Education and Research in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2005 to 2013, when she resigned foll ...

). *2009

Kleist Prize The Kleist Prize is an annual German literature prize. The prize was first awarded in 1912, on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the death of Heinrich von Kleist. The Kleist Prize was the most important literary award of the Weimar Re ...

(destined by

Péter Esterházy Péter Esterházy (14 April 1950 – 14 July 2016) was a Hungarian writer. He was one of the best known Hungarian and Central European writers of his era. He has been called a "leading figure of 20th century Hungarian literature", his books being ...

) *2010 Johann Peter Hebel Prize *2014

Bodensee-Literaturpreis Bodensee-Literaturpreis (Lake Constance Literature Prize) is a literary prize awarded in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The city of Überlingen has been awarding the Lake Constance Literature Prize since 1954. The foundation of this municipal litera ...

Stadler is member of the foundation board for the

Peace Prize of the German Book Trade is an international peace prize awarded annually by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (English: ''German Publishers and Booksellers Association''), which runs the Frankfurt Book Fair. The award ceremony is held in the Paulskirche in ...

Works

* ''Kein Herz und keine Seele. Man muss es singen können'', Gedichte, Erker-Verlag, St. Gallen 1986 * ''Das Buch der Psalmen und die deutschsprachige Lyrik des 20. Jahrhunderts. Zu den Psalmen im Werk Bertolt Brechts und Paul Celans'' (= Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Phil. Fak. der Univ. Köln, vorgelegt von A. Stadler 1986), Böhlau Verlag, Köln, Wien 1989 * ''Ich war einmal'', Roman, Residenz, Salzburg 1989 * ''Feuerland'', Roman, Residenz, Salzburg 1992 * ''Mein Hund, meine Sau, mein Leben'', Roman, Residenz, Salzburg 1994 * ''Warum toben die Heiden und andere Psalmen'', Residenz, Salzburg 1995 * ''Gedichte aufs Land'', mit Offsetlithografien von Hildegard Pütz, Eremiten-Presse, Düsseldorf 1995 * ''Der Tod und ich, wir zwei'', Residenz, Salzburg 1996 * ''Johann Peter Hebels Unvergänglichkeit'', Mayer, Berlin/Stuttgart 1997 * ''Ausflug nach Afrika. Eine Wintergeschichte'', Edition Isele, Eggingen 1997 * ''Volubilis oder Meine Reisen ans Ende der Welt'', Erzählungen, Edition Isele, Eggingen 1999 * ''Ein hinreissender Schrotthändler'', Roman, DuMont, Köln 1999, Taschenbuch Goldmann, München 2001 * ''Die Menschen lügen. Alle. Und andere Psalmen'', Insel, Frankfurt a.M. 1999 * ''Erbarmen mit dem Seziermesser'', Essays, DuMont, Köln 2000 * ''Tohuwabohu. Heiliges und Profanes, gelesen und wiedergelesen von Arnold Stadler nach dem 11. September 2001'', Anthologie, DuMont, Köln, August 2002 * ''Sehnsucht. Versuch über das erste Mal'', Roman, DuMont, Köln, August 2002 * ''Eines Tages, vielleicht auch nachts'', Roman, Jung und Jung, 2003 * ''Mein Stifter. Porträt eines Selbstmörders in spe'', DuMont, Köln 2005 * ''Komm, gehen wir.'' Roman, S. Fischer, Frankfurt a. M. 2007 * ''Salvatore'', S. Fischer, Frankfurt a. M. 2008 * ''Träumen vom Fliegen'', mit dem Fotokünstler Jan von Holleben, Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg 2008 * ''Einmal auf der Welt. Und dann so.'' Roman (kompilierte, überarbeitete und erweiterte Fassung der Romane ''Ich war einmal'', ''Feuerland'' und ''Mein Hund, meine Sau, mein Leben''), S. Fischer, Frankfurt a. M. 2009 * ''New York machen wir das nächste Mal. Geschichten aus dem Zweistromland'', S. Fischer, Frankfurt a. M. 2011 * ''Auf dem Weg nach Winterreute: Ein Ausflug in die Welt des Malers Jakob Bräckle'', Jung und Jung, Salzburg, Wien 2012 * ''Da steht ein großes JA vor mir. Zu einer Arbeit von Margaret Marquardt''. Jung und Jung, Salzburg 2013, . * ''Bilder als Partituren des Lebens: Ein Ausflug in die Welt des Malers Jakob Braeckle. Eine Vergegenwärtigung''. Steiner, Stuttgart 2013, . * ''Rauschzeit''. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2016, .

Literature

* Irene Armbruster: ''Büchner-Preisträger Arnold Stadler in New York. Kein Landei''; in: "Aufbau" No. 8, New York, April 20, 2000; p. 7. *

: ''Über das Verbergen der Verzweiflung''; in: "DER SPIEGEL" Nr. 29/1999, Hamburg, 19. Juli 1999; S. 161–162. * Stuart Taberner: ''Contemporary German Fiction: Writing in the Berlin Republic''. Cambridge University Press, 2007, * Gregory Alexander Knott: ''Arnold Stadler and the metaphysics of Heimat''. Thesis (Ph. D.), Washington University, 2007

External links

*
The Scrap Dealer (or An adorable junk dealer)
(''Ein hinreissender Schrotthändler'') − Abstract
Biography • The 7th International Literature Festival Berlin

Arnold Stadler: Die Kirche sollte im Dorf bleiben. Wie hält man's mit der Religion im multikulturellen Europa?. – In: taz, 15.04.2006

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stadler, Arnold 1954 births Living people People from Meßkirch 20th-century German novelists 21st-century German novelists Kleist Prize winners Georg Büchner Prize winners German male novelists German male dramatists and playwrights Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg 20th-century German dramatists and playwrights 21st-century German dramatists and playwrights 20th-century German male writers 21st-century German male writers