Doris Mühringer

Doris Mühringer (18 September 1920 – 26 May 2009) was an Austrian poet, short story writer, and children's writer. She has received a number of awards, and her contributions to Austrian poetry, which both are considered particularly significant.

Biography

Born in Graz, Mühringer suffered a serious illness, when she was seven years old. After being bed-ridden for months, she had to learn how to walk again. During this period, she discovered the world of books, especially fairy tales, which provided her with exciting new experiences, often affecting her own poetry in later life.

In 1929, the family moved to Vienna, where she completed various studies at the University of Vienna without graduating. After the war, Mühringer settled in Salzburg, where she made a living translating from English, and taking on secretarial work and proof reading for publishing houses. She met the writer Hans Weigel, who persuaded her to move to Vienna, and became her mentor. In 1954, he published some of her poems in his collection, ''Stimmen der Gegenwart'' (Voices from the Present). In 1976, she published her own rather different version of the fairy tale "Der Wolf und die sieben Geißlein" (" The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids") by the Brothers Grimm, as part of the children's book ''Neues vom Rumpelstilzchen und andere Haus-Märchen von 43 Autoren'', compiled by Hans-Joachim Gelberg.Doris Mühringer: ''Der Wolf und die sieben Geißlein.'' In: Grimmige Märchen. Prosatexte von Ilse Aichinger bis Martin Walser. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt (Main) 1986, , S. 84–85 (zuerst erschienen in: Hans-Joachim Gelberg (ed.): ''Neues vom Rumpelstilzchen und andere Haus-Märchen von 43 Autoren.'' Beltz & Gelberg, Weinheim 1976, S. 197–198.).

Shortly after publication of ''Stimmen der Gegenwart'', she received the Georg Trakl Poetry Award (1954), soon to be followed by the Bertelsmann Poetry Prize (1956). She has received a number of other awards, including the Boga-Tinti Prize in 1972. In 2001, she was awarded the Austrian Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature (''Österreichischer Kinder- und Jugendbuchpreis'').

A member of the international PEN Club, and of the Austrian PODIUM, she moved in literary circles, took part in open readings, and, in 1969, went on a lecture tour to the United States. Despite her relatively few publications, the Austrian writer Gerhard Ruiss commented that there was absolutely no doubt Doris Mühringer was one of "the most important contributors to Austrian poetry over the last few decades".

Works

* 1957 ''Gedichte I'' (poetry)
* 1969 ''Gedichte II'' (poetry)
* 1976 ''Staub öffnet das Auge. Gedichte III'' (poetry)
* 1976 ''Der Wolf und die sieben Geißlein''
* 1984 ''Vögel die ohne Schlaf sind. Gedichte IV'' (poetry)
* 1985 ''Tanzen unter dem Netz'' (short stories)
* 1989 ''Das hatten die Ratten vom Schatten'' (humorous prose)
* 1995 ''Reisen wir'' (selected poems)
* 1999 ''Aber jetzt zögerst du'' (poetry)
* 2000 ''Auf der Wiese liegend'' (for children)
* 2000 ''Angesiedelt im Zwischenreich. Achtzig für achtzig''
* 2002 ''Ausgewählte Gedichte'' (selected poems for children)
* 2005 ''Es verirrt sich die Zeit'' (complete works)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muehringer, Doris
Writers from Vienna
1932 births
2009 deaths
Austrian women poets
Austrian children's writers
Austrian women children's writers
20th-century Austrian women writers
21st-century Austrian women writers
Writers from Graz
University of Vienna alumni
20th-century poets