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Aleš Šteger

アレシュ・シェテール

Ales Šteger

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1973-05-31 （Ptuj (then Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)）
Nationality
Slovenian
Languages
Slovene, German, Spanish, English
Residence History
Ptuj → Ljubljana → Berlin, Germany

Career

Occupations
poet, writer, editor, translator, literary critic
Active Years
1995-
Affiliations
Beletrina Academic Press (co-founder, program director), Academy of Arts, Berlin (member), German Academy for Language and Literature (member), Versopolis (founder)
Memberships
Academy of Arts, Berlin, German Academy for Language and Literature
Nominations
Cankar Award nomination (2024)

Education

University of Ljubljana (Faculty of Arts)
Faculty of Arts / Comparative Literature and German
Degree: 学士
Period: 在学期間 不詳（～2003）
Year of Graduation: 2003
Country: Slovenia
Studied Comparative Literature and German; graduated in 2003

Awards

Slovenian Book Fair Prize (debut)
1996
Organization: Slovenian Book Fair
Result: winner
Veronika Award
1998
Work: Kašmir
Organization: Veronika Award committee
Result: winner
Rožanc Award
2007
Work: Berlin
Organization: Rožanc Award committee
Result: winner
The Great Oljenka of the Municipality of Ptuj
2017
Organization: Municipality of Ptuj
Result: winner
Krilata želva Award (best travelogue)
2018
Work: Written on Site
Organization: Krilata želva award organizers
Result: winner
Pretnar Award
2021
Organization: Pretnar Award committee
Result: winner
Writing Fellowship at Akademie Schloss Solitude
2001
Organization: Akademie Schloss Solitude
Result: fellowship
Best Translated Book Award (BTBA)
2011
Work: The Book of Things (translation)
Organization: Best Translated Book Award organizers
Result: winner
International Horst Bienek Prize for Poetry
2016
Organization: Bavarian Academy of Arts
Result: winner
Nuevo Siglo de Oro International Poetry Prize
2023
Organization: Mexican poetry prize organizers
Result: winner
International Prize of the City of Zug Spycher
2022
Work: Neverend (German translation)
Organization: City of Zug
Result: winner
Alfred Kolleritsch Prize (City of Graz)
2021
Organization: City of Graz
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Šahovnice ur (Chessboards of Hours)

1995 poetry

Early poetry collection that announced a new generation of Slovenian poets in the mid-1990s.

timememoryeveryday objects

Kašmir

1997 poetry

A poetry collection focused on objects and perception; received the Veronika Award in 1998.

thingsobservationontological reflection

The Book of Things

2005 poetry

A representative book centered on things; translated into many languages and widely praised.

objectsmemorynostalgia
Translations
  • The Book of Things (English translation)

The Book of Bodies

2010 poetry

A collection themed around the body; explores corporeality and memory.

bodymemoryidentity
Translations
  • The Book of Bodies (English translation)

Absolution

2014 novel

A novel by Šteger; translated into English and other languages.

forgivenessmemoryhistory
Translations
  • Absolution (English translation)

Berlin

2007 short prose

A short prose collection that includes the work which won the Rožanc Award.

citymovementmemory
Translations
  • Berlin (English translation)

Bibliography

  • Šahovnice ur (1995)
  • Kašmir (1997)
  • Protuberance (2002)
  • The Book of Things (2005)
  • The Book of Bodies (2010)
  • Absolution (2014)
  • Neverend (2017)
  • Testimony (2021)

Adaptations

  • My War Accordion (stage production, 2023)
  • der Verwandler / Alchemis (libretto for musical composition, premiered 2019)
  • The Pyramid of Exiled Poets (installation, Kochi Muziris Biennale)

Translations by Author

  • Gottfried Benn (translated from German)
  • Ingeborg Bachmann (German)
  • César Vallejo (Spanish)
  • Walter Benjamin (German)

Translations of Works

  • Burning Tongues (English translation, Bloodaxe, 2022)
  • The Book of Bodies (English translation, White Pine Press, 2022)
  • The Book of Things (English translation, BOA Editions, 2010)
  • Absolution (English translation, Istros Books, 2017)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
poetics of objects and attentionlaconic minimalismphilosophical yet lyrical voice
Recurring Motifs
household objectsmemory and historyexile and displacement

Legacy

A leading contemporary Slovenian poet and writer whose attentive focus on objects and memory has won international recognition. Active as an editor and translator, he has contributed significantly to promoting Slovenian literature abroad.

Academic Societies

  • Academy of Arts, Berlin
  • German Academy for Language and Literature

Quotes

  • Simply one of the most enjoyable poets to read in Europe right now, Aleš Šteger is cultivated and often brilliant poet.
    Source: 3:AM Magazine, Maintenant #45
  • Šteger focuses on things, a central concern of European philosophy ever since Husserl, and of European poetry since Rilke.
    Source: Poetry Today, The Antioch Review (2012)
  • Steger has a tremendous capacity for juxtaposition, and the poems offer a great many startlingly moments.
    Source: Rain Taxi

Trivia

  • His first collection Šahovnice ur sold out three weeks after publication.
  • Co-founder and program director of Beletrina Academic Press.
  • Founder of the international poetry platform Versopolis.
  • Married to social anthropologist Maja Petrović-Šteger; they have a son.