![Josef Winkler cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Josef_Winkler_cropped.jpg)
Josef Winkler (born 3 March 1953) is an Austrian writer.
Biography
Josef Winkler was born in Kamering near
Paternion
Paternion ( sl, Špaterjan) is a market town in the district of Villach-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is located within the Drava valley about in the north-west of the city of Villach.
Geography
Paternion is subdivided into six Ka ...
in
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
(Kärnten) and grew up on his parents' farm.
He describes his home as a world without language ("sprachlose Welt") and early on felt drawn to language as a mode of self-expression.
He grew up in the context of a difficult triangle – a rather rough father, by whom he felt rejected; a mother who lost her own brothers early on and fell silent; and a deaf-mute farmgirl. When his mother explained that there was no money for books, Winkler soon recognized the (intellectual) class difference between the sons of farmers and teachers. There was an early obsession to acquire books – and thus language.
Following completion of the eight-year rural Austrian primary school, Winkler attended the three-year commercial school in
Villach
Villach (; sl, Beljak; it, Villaco; fur, Vilac) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the po ...
. After a clerical position at a dairy, he went to an evening school to obtain his high school diploma, concurrently working at a publishing house producing books by the widely admired German author of novels on American "Indians,"
Karl May
Karl Friedrich May ( , ; 25 February 1842 – 30 March 1912) was a German author. He is best known for his 19th century novels of fictitious travels and adventures, set in the American Old West with Winnetou and Old Shatterhand as main pro ...
.
From 1973 and 1982, he was employed in the administration of Klagenfurt University, the
Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt
The University of Klagenfurt (german: Universität Klagenfurt or ''Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt'', AAU) is a federal Austrian research university and the largest research and higher education institution in the States of Austria, state of C ...
. At that time, he organized a literary circle, the ''Literarischer Arbeitskreis'', together with his Carinthian author colleague Alois Brandstetter and edited a literary magazine, the ''Schreibarbeiten''.
In 1979 his novel ''Menschenkind'' earned him the second place in the renowned Ingeborg-Bachmann-Preis behind
Gert Hofmann Gert Hofmann (29 January 1931 – 1 July 1993) was a German writer and professor of German literature.
Life
Hofmann was born and grew up in Limbach-Oberfrohna, Limbach, Saxony (Germany) which, after World War II, became part of East Germany. ...
. Together with his subsequent two novels, ''Der Ackermann aus Kärnten'' and ''Muttersprache'', this book makes up the trilogy ''Das wilde Kärnten''.
Josef Winkler's texts are dominated by the themes of death and homosexuality. His renditions of problems individuals encounter in a patriarchal Catholic world have a self-acknowledged autobiographical background. Winkler relates his own work to that of other German-language and international writers with a focus on suicide, isolation and homosexuality such as
Jean Genet
Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...
,
Peter Handke
Peter Handke (; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored t ...
and
Hans Henny Jahnn
Hans Henny Jahnn (born Hans Henny August Jahn'';'' 17 December 1894 – 29 November 1959) was a German playwright, novelist, and organ-builder.
Personal life
Hans Henny Jahn was born in 1894 in Stellingen, one of Hamburg's suburbs, and was the s ...
. Winkler's numerous trips to both Italy and India are frequently reflected in his works, including Indian death rituals as practiced in the city of
Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic t ...
which are contrasted with Catholic rituals in his home culture.
His early work ''Wortschatz der Nacht'' was published in 2013. ''Winnetou, Abel und ich'' (2014), featuring his early acquaintance with Karl May, includes both an important chapter of his literary autobiography and re-tellings of May's fantastical stories surrounding Winnetoo, an imaginary Indian chief widely known in Central European culture.
On the occasion of the 33rd Ingeborg-Bachmann-Preis 2009, Josef Winkler held the traditional "Klagenfurter Rede zur Literatur". This speech generated significant controversy as it vehemently criticized the governments of Carinthia and its capital city
Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...
for failing to establish a city library.
While much money was expended for mismanaged banks and 70 million Euros were spent on a soccer stadium in Klagenfurt (
Wörthersee Stadion
Wörthersee Stadion (), known as 28 Black Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Klagenfurt, Austria. It is the home ground of Austria Klagenfurt. The stadium is situated within the Sportpark Klagenfurt campus of sev ...
), authorities claimed that they lack the resources for a municipal library.
Josef Winkler is member of two associations of Austrian authors, the
Grazer Autorenversammlung
The Grazer Autorinnen Autorenversammlung (GAV) was founded under the name of ''Grazer Autorenversammlung'' in March 1973 and is one of the two major Austrian writers' association (besides the Austrian PEN). H. C. Artmann was its first president. O ...
and the Interessengemeinschaft österreichischer Autorinnen und Autoren. In October 2010 he was nominated member of the Österreichischen Kunstsenat, the Austrian Art Senate, whose president he now is. Winkler is married and has one son and one daughter. He lives with his family in
Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...
.
Works
![Josef Winkler ö-töne 2013 03](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Josef_Winkler_%C3%B6-t%C3%B6ne_2013_03.jpg)
* ''Menschenkind'' (
Suhrkamp
Suhrkamp Verlag is a German publishing house, established in 1950 and generally acknowledged as one of the leading European publishers of fine literature. Its roots go back to the "arianized" part of the S. Fischer Verlag.
In January 2010 the ...
, 1979).
* ''Der Ackermann aus Kärnten'' (Suhrkamp, 1980).
* ''Muttersprache'' (Suhrkamp, 1982).
* ''Die Verschleppung'' (Suhrkamp, 1983).
* ''Der Leibeigene'' (Suhrkamp, 1987). ''The Serf'', trans. by Michael Mitchell (Ariadne Press, 1997).
* ''Friedhof der bitteren Orangen'' (Suhrkamp, 1990).
Graveyard of Bitter Oranges', trans. by Adrian West (New York: Contra Mundum Press, 2015).
* ''Das Zöglingsheft des Jean Genet'' (Suhrkamp, 1992). ''Flowers for Jean Genet'', trans. Michael Roloff (Ariadne Press, 1997).
* ''Das wilde Kärnten: Menschenkind, Der Ackermann aus Kärnten, Muttersprache'' (Suhrkamp, 1995).
* ''Domra'' (Suhrkamp, 1996).
* ''Wenn es soweit ist'' (Suhrkamp, 1998).
When the Time Comes', trans. by Adrian West (New York: Contra Mundum Press, 2013)
* ''Natura Morta. Römische Novelle'' (Suhrkamp, 2001).
Natura Morta', trans. by Adrian West (New York: Contra Mundum Press, 2014).
* ''Leichnam, seine Familie belauernd'' (Suhrkamp, 2003).
* ''Roppongi. Requiem für einen Vater'' (Suhrkamp, 2007).
* ''Ich reiß mir eine Wimper aus und stech dich damit tot'' (Suhrkamp, 2008).
* ''Wortschatz der Nacht'' (Suhrkamp, 2013).
* ''Mutter und der Bleistift'' (Suhrkamp, 2013).
* ''Winnetou, Abel und ich'' (Suhrkamp, 2014).
*''Der Stadtschreiber von Kalkutta'' (Suhrkamp, 2019).
*''Begib dich auf die Reise oder Drahtzieher der Sonnenstrahlen'' (Suhrkamp, 2020).
Prizes
* Editors' prize of the
Ingeborg Bachmann Prize
The Festival of German-Language Literature (german: Tage der deutschsprachigen Literatur, links=no) is a literary event which takes place annually in Klagenfurt, Austria. During this major literary festival which lasts for several days a number of ...
1979
*
Anton Wildgans Prize
The Anton Wildgans Prize of Austrian Industry is a literary award that was endowed in 1962 by the Federation of Austrian Industry. The prize is worth 15,000 Euro and is granted by an independent jury to a young or middle-aged writer of Austrian c ...
1980
*
Kranichsteiner Literaturpreis
Kranichsteiner Literaturpreis is a literary prize of Germany. The Deutsche Literaturfonds (German Literature Fund) based in Darmstadt has been awarding the prize since 1983. The prize money was raised in 2019 from €20,000 to €30,000. In addi ...
1990
*
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 ...
1994/1995
*
Bettina-von-Arnim-Preis 1995
* Berliner Literaturpreis 1996
* manuskripte-Preis des Landes Steiermark 1996
* André-Gide-Preis 2000
*
Alfred Döblin Prize
The Alfred Döblin Prize (german: Alfred-Döblin-Preis) is a German literary award. Named after Alfred Döblin, it was endowed by Günter Grass in 1979. The prize is awarded every two years jointly by the Academy of Arts, Berlin and the Literary C ...
2001
* Otto-Stoessl-Preis 2001
*
Franz Nabl Prize
The Franz Nabl Prize is an biennial Austrian literature award. The prize was first awarded in 1975 by the city of Graz. The prize money is €14,500 (since 2019: €15,000). It is awarded as part of a jury meeting in cooperation with the at the ...
of the City of Graz 2005
*
Grand Austrian State Prize
The Grand Austrian State Prize () is a decoration given annually by Austria to an artist for exceptional work. The recipient must be an Austrian citizen with a permanent residence in Austria.
It was originally created in 1950 by then education mi ...
2007
*
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'' ...
by
Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung
The Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (in English German Academy for Language and Literature) was founded on 28 August 1949, on the 200th birthday of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt. It is seated in Darmstadt, ...
2008
*
Honorary Doctor
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 ...
,
University of Klagenfurt
The University of Klagenfurt (german: Universität Klagenfurt or ''Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt'', AAU) is a federal Austrian research university and the largest research and higher education institution in the state of Carinthia. It has it ...
2009
*
Vilenica Prize
Vilenica International Literary Festival ( sl, Mednarodni literarni festival Vilenica) is a festival dedicated to literature that was founded in 1986 in Slovenia. It takes place annually in several locations on the Karst Plateau in the Slovene Lit ...
2021
References
External links
*
Suhrkamp: Josef Winkler (German)* Josef Winkler
"The Dead Children,"''the Paris Review'' (30 December 2013). An excerpt from Winkler's novel ''Graveyard of Bitter Oranges''. Other excerpts from the novel were featured in ''the Paris Review'' from 31 December 2013 – 4 January 2014.
* Alberto Manguel, "When the Time Comes,"
The Guardian' (28 November 2013). Review.
* K. Thomas Kahn, "The Flood of Recollected Images Begins,"
Numero Cinq', Vol. V, No. 2 (February 2014). A review of ''When the Time Comes'' and ''Natura Morta''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkler, Josef
1953 births
Living people
Anton Wildgans Prize winners
Georg Büchner Prize winners
20th-century Austrian writers
21st-century Austrian writers
LGBT writers from Austria
Gay writers
20th-century Austrian male writers