World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Peter Wawerzinek

ピーター・ワヴェルツィネク

Peter Wawerzinek

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1954-09-28 （Rostock, Bezirk Rostock, East Germany）
Nationality
German
Languages
German
Residence History
Northern East Germany (raised in children's homes, later adopted) → Berlin (since c.2010)

Career

Occupations
artist, writer
Active Years
1978-
Nominations
German Book Prize (2010, shortlist)

Education

Art school in East Berlin (studied, not graduated)
Period: 1978–1980s（中退）
Country: East Germany
Did not complete degree; worked various jobs while pursuing artistic activities

Awards

Ingeborg Bachmann Prize
2010
Work: Excerpt 'Ich finde dich' from 'Rabenliebe'
Organization: Festival of German‑Language Literature (Klagenfurt)
Result: winner
German Book Prize (shortlist)
2010
Work: Rabenliebe
Organization: German Publishers and Booksellers Association (German Book Prize)
Result: shortlist
Villa Massimo (German Academy Rome) grant
2019
Organization: Villa Massimo (German Academy Rome)
Result: grant

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Rabenliebe

2010 novel

A largely autobiographical novel drawing on his childhood in children's homes and his parents' flight; it explores abandonment, family and memory from the perspective of the abandoned child.

familyabandonmenttraumamemory

Schluckspecht

2014 novel/fiction

A work containing personal and satirical elements; written in a direct style with dark humor.

humorhuman relationships

Liebestölpel

2019 novel

Published in 2019; depicts human folly and awkwardness of love with humor and biting insight.

lovehumorsocial satire

Das Kind, das ich war

1994 memoir/essays

A shorter work based on childhood recollections; deals with personal memories.

childhoodmemory

Mein Babylon

1995 essays/fiction

An essayistic work reflecting on cityscapes and personal landscapes.

citypersonal history

Bibliography

  • Es war einmal ... – Parodien zur DDR-Literatur (1990)
  • Nix (1990)
  • Die 6. Tonnenleerung (1990)
  • Moppel Schappiks Tätowierungen (1991)
  • Das Kind, das ich war (1994)
  • Mein Babylon (1995)
  • Fallada ich zucke (1996) (with Klaus Zylla)
  • Vielleicht kommt Peter noch vorbei (1997)
  • Café Komplott (1998)
  • Oliv ist Arsen oder Pekinger Wüsteneien (1998) (with Klaus Bendler)
  • Skorbut (1998)
  • Der Galionsfigurenschnitzer (2000) (with Tim von Veh)
  • Das Meer an sich ist weniger (2000)
  • Der Krieg ist doch verloren? (2001) (with Bodo Korsig)
  • Sperrzone reines Deutschland. Szenen einer Sommerreise (2001)
  • Mein Salzkammergut. Von Seereisen und Seefahrten (2008)
  • Rabenliebe (2010)
  • Schluckspecht (2014)
  • Liebestölpel (2019)

Translations of Works

  • Excerpt 'I'll find you/Bad love' translated by Stefan Tobler (published at Bachmann Prize site)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
direct, unvarnished narrationstrongly autobiographical prosedark humor and satire
Recurring Motifs
abandonment and upbringingmemory and revisiting the pastsea and northern German landscapesfatherhood and family relationships

Legacy

Known for works based on his upbringing, he gained wide recognition after winning the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize in 2010. His writing is noted for literary treatments of East German experience and personal trauma.

Archives

  • Holdings at the German National Library

Trivia

  • His parents fled East Germany shortly after his birth, leaving him behind; he spent years in children's homes before being adopted.
  • He worked various jobs including gravedigger and carpenter.
  • In the 1980s he was active as a performance artist and poet.
  • He won the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize in 2010.