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Kurt Drawert

クルト・ドラーヴァート

Kurt Drawert

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1956-03-15 （Hennigsdorf, Germany）
Nationality
Germany
Languages
German
Residence History
Borgsdorf, Germany → Hohen Neuendorf, Germany → Dresden, Germany → Leipzig, Germany → Osterholz-Scharmbeck, Germany → Darmstadt, Germany

Career

Occupations
writer, poet, essayist, playwright, editor, translator
Active Years
1986-
Affiliations
P.E.N. Center Germany (member until 1996), Free Academy of the Arts Leipzig (Freie Akademie der Künste zu Leipzig), German Academy for Language and Literature (Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung, elected 2014), Saxon Academy of the Arts (Sächsische Akademie der Künste, since 2018)

Education

Johannes R. Becher Literature Institute (Deutsches Literaturinstitut Leipzig)
Literature
Period: 1982–1985
Year of Graduation: 1985
Country: Germany
Attended after obtaining Abitur at evening school

Awards

Leonce and Lena Prize
1989
Organization: Leonce-und-Lena prize organization
Result: 受賞
Literature Prize of the Jürgen Ponto Foundation
1992
Organization: Jürgen Ponto Foundation
Result: 受賞
Ingeborg Bachmann Prize
1993
Organization: Klagenfurt Days of German-Language Literature
Result: 受賞
Uwe Johnson Prize
1994
Organization: Uwe Johnson Prize organization
Result: 受賞
Meran Poetry Prize (Lyrikpreis Meran)
1993
Organization: Meran, Italy
Result: 受賞
Rainer Malkowski Prize
2008
Organization: German literary organizations
Result: 共同受賞（Adolf Endler と）
Werner Bergengruen Prize
2013
Organization: Werner Bergengruen Society
Result: 受賞
Robert Gernhardt Prize
2014
Work: Verständnis und Abfall
Organization: Robert Gernhardt Prize organization
Result: 受賞（作品に対して）
Lessing Prize of the Free State of Saxony
2017
Organization: Free State of Saxony
Result: 受賞
Dresden City Writer (Dresdner Stadtschreiber)
2018
Organization: City of Dresden
Result: 選出
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg Prize
2020
Organization: hr2-related committee
Result: 受賞
Walter Kempowski Prize
2021
Category: 伝記文学
Organization: State of Lower Saxony
Result: 受賞
Italo Svevo Prize
2023
Organization: Italo Svevo Prize organization
Result: 受賞
New York Fellowship (New-York-Stipendium)
2010
Category: フェローシップ
Organization: German Literature Fund
Result: 受給

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Spiegelland. A German Monologue

1992 Novel (monologue)

A monologue-style novel exploring German identity and history, interweaving personal and national memory.

memoryidentitycontemporary German history

I Took My Shadow for Someone Else and Greeted

2008 Novel

A novel dealing with self-perception and otherness, blending biographical elements and legendary motifs.

othernessmemorylegend

The Body of My Time

2016 Poetry

A poetry collection that examines the corporeality of an era and personal experience, focusing on intersections of body and history.

bodytimehistory

Dresden. The Second Time

2020 Novel

A novel centered on memory and regeneration in Dresden, portraying the city's layered historical consciousness.

citymemoryregeneration

Everything Is Simple

1995 Play

A seven-scene play premiered at the Staatstheater Darmstadt, dealing with tensions between everyday life and politics.

everyday lifepoliticsdialogue
Adaptations
  • [Theatre] Alles ist einfach (theatrical premiere) (1995)

Bibliography

  • Zweite Inventur (1987)
  • Privateigentum (1989)
  • Spiegelland. Ein deutscher Monolog (1992; new edition 2020)
  • Haus ohne Menschen. Zeitmitschriften (1993)
  • Fraktur (1994)
  • Alles ist einfach (play, 1995)
  • Ich hielt meinen Schatten für einen anderen und grüßte (2008)
  • Der Körper meiner Zeit (poetry, 2016)
  • Dresden. Die zweite Zeit (2020)
  • Die große Abwesenheit (essays, 2023)
  • Alles neigt sich zum Unverständlichen hin (poetry, 2024)

Adaptations

  • Alles ist einfach (theatrical premiere: Staatstheater Darmstadt, 1995)
  • Steinzeit (theatrical premiere: Staatstheater Darmstadt, 1999)

Translations by Author

  • Co-translated Choi Seung-Ho's 'Autobiographie aus Eis' (with Kyunghee Park)
  • Selected and introduced poems of Vladimir Mayakovsky (2008 edition)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical and essayistic styleexperimental use of monologue and fragmentsclear, reflective narration
Recurring Motifs
memory and forgettingbody and timefather-generation / family historyGerman history and identity

Legacy

Kurt Drawert is an important contemporary German writer from the former GDR, with a wide body of work in poetry, novels, plays and essays. He contributed to literary infrastructure (founding the Darmstädter Textwerkstatt) and has been recognized with numerous awards.

Academic Societies

  • German Academy for Language and Literature (Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung)
  • Free Academy of the Arts Leipzig (Freie Akademie der Künste zu Leipzig)
  • Saxon Academy of the Arts (Sächsische Akademie der Künste)

Archives

  • Holdings in the German National Library (Deutsche Nationalbibliothek)

Trivia

  • His father was a criminal police officer.
  • Trained as an electronics technician and later obtained his Abitur at an evening school.
  • Has worked as a freelance writer since 1986.
  • Founded the Darmstädter Textwerkstatt in Darmstadt in 1998.
  • Recipient of numerous literary awards including the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize (1993).