Michael Köhlmeier (born 15 October 1949 in

Hard, Austria Hard is a town in the west of the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg, directly on the southern shores of Lake Constance. Hard's attractions include the Strandbad and the Grünerdamm. Hard is also known for its skatepark. An honorary consu ...

)"Prize Acknowledging Literary Achievements of Michael Köhlmeier"

Austrian Federal Chancellery In Austrian politics, the Federal Chancellery (german: Bundeskanzleramt, lit=federal chancellery, abbreviated ; historically also and ) is the ministry led by the chancellor. Since the establishment of the First Austrian Republic in 1918, the Ch ...

, 23.06.2008. Retrieved 01.03.2010. is a contemporary

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n writer and musician. He studied Politics and German (1970–1978) at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

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 ...

, and Mathematics and Philosophy at the universities in Giessen and Frankfurt, Germany. Recent acclaim hailed from his radio broadcasts of casually told antique myths (

Telemachus Telemachus ( ; grc, Τηλέμαχος, Tēlemakhos, lit=far-fighter), in Greek mythology, is the son of Odysseus and Penelope, who is a central character in Homer's ''Odyssey''. When Telemachus reached manhood, he visited Pylos and Sparta in se ...

and Calypso) and biblical stories (

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

), which were later issued as CDs and in book form. Together with Reinhold Bilgeri he has composed cabaret programs and song lyrics, which both artists presented in public as the Duo Bilgeri & Köhlmeier. With the group Schellinski he has been writing song texts in Vorarlberg dialect since 2004. In 1981 he married the writer

Monika Helfer Monika Helfer (born 18 October 1947, in Au) is an Austrian writer. She was invested with the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art in 2016. She was the recipient of the Solothurner Literaturpreis in 2020, and the Schubart-Literaturpreis in 20 ...

. Their daughter Paula Köhlmeier died in an accident in 2003, at the age of 21, and he dedicated his book ''Idylle mit ertrinkendem Hund'' (''Idyll With Drowning Dog'') as a memorial to her and his surviving family."Michael Köhlmeier: Idylle mit ertrinkendem Hund"
review by Dietmar Jacobsen, 22.05.2009, PoetenLaden. Retrieved 01.03.2010. Other books include ''Abendland'' (''Occident'',

Carl Hanser Verlag The Carl Hanser Verlag was founded in 1928 by Carl Hanser in Munich and is one of the few medium-sized publishing companies in the German-speaking area still owned by the founding family. History From the very beginning, the publishing house h ...

, August 2007, ), about the memoirs of a mathematics professor, telling the history of two families over the past 95 years."Abendland (Occident)"
, New Books in German, Autumn 2009, Issue 26. Retrieved 01.03.2010. It has met with critical acclaim."Das ganze Leben: Michael Köhlmeiers monumentales Jahrhundertepos »Abendland« wagt viel und gewinnt."
review by Verena Auffermann, 20.09.2007, ''

Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...

'' No 39. Retrieved 01.03.2010. Michael Köhlmeier lives as a free-lance writer in

Hohenems Hohenems (High Alemannic: ''Ems'') is a town in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg in the Dornbirn district. It lies in the middle of the Austrian part of the Rhine valley. With a population of 15,200, it is the fifth largest municipality in Vorarlbe ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label=Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is ...

. In 1997 he received the Grimmelshausen Prize.

Awards

* Johann Peter Hebel Prize (1988)"KÖHLMEIER, Michael"
, Second Dimension press author page, 12-Mar-2008. Retrieved 01.03.2010. * Manès Sperber Prize for Literature (1994) * Golden Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service of Vienna (2007) * Prize Acknowledging Literary Achievements (2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kohlmeier, Michael 1949 births Living people Austrian male writers Anton Wildgans Prize winners