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Walter Kappacher

ヴァルター・カッパッハー

Walter Kappacher

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1938-10-24 （Salzburg, Gau Salzburg, Nazi Germany）
Died
2024-05-24 （Salzburg, Austria） age 85
Nationality
Austrian
Languages
German
Residence History
Salzburg (birthplace and long-term residence) → Obertrum (moved mid-1990s) → Salzburg (resided again from 2014)

Career

Occupations
Writer
Active Years
1964-2024
Affiliations
PEN Club Austria (part of PEN International), Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung
Memberships
PEN Club Austria (member of PEN International), Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (member since 2005), Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste (corresponding member)

Education

Apprenticeship (motorcycle mechanic)
Mechanical vocational training
Period: 1960年代頃（正確な年不明）
Country: Austria
Received vocational apprenticeship training in his youth
Drama school in Munich (did not complete)
Drama
Period: 短期間（年不詳）
Country: Germany
Began drama training but later gave it up

Awards

Grand Austrian State Prize (promotional award)
1977
Organization: Republic of Austria
Result: 受賞
Rauris Literature Prize
1985
Organization: Rauris Literature Festival
Result: 受賞
Literature Prize of the Kulturkreis der Deutschen Wirtschaft
1986
Organization: Kulturkreis der Deutschen Wirtschaft (Federation of German Industries cultural circle)
Result: 受賞
Calw Hermann Hesse Prize
1997
Organization: Calw Hermann Hesse Prize committee
Result: 受賞
Hermann-Lenz-Preis
2004
Organization: Hermann Lenz Prize committee
Result: 受賞
Großer Kunstpreis des Landes Salzburg (Great Art Prize of the State of Salzburg)
2006
Organization: State of Salzburg
Result: 受賞
Honorary Doctorate (University of Salzburg)
2008
Category: 名誉学位
Organization: University of Salzburg
Result: 授与
Georg Büchner Prize
2009
Organization: Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung
Result: 受賞
Golden Armorial Medallion of the State Capital of Salzburg
2015
Organization: State Capital of Salzburg
Result: 受賞
Ring of the City of Salzburg
2018
Organization: City of Salzburg
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Morgen

1975 Novel / Short fiction

A collection of short and mid-length pieces focusing on solitude and the minutiae of everyday life, rendered in a quiet, dense prose that explores interiority and the passage of time.

solitudeeveryday lifetime

Rosina

1978 Novel

A novel that quietly depicts memory and human relationships, showcasing the author's characteristic meticulous prose.

memoryhuman relationships

Die irdische Liebe

1979 Novel / Prose

Explores love and the subtle aspects of daily life through introspective observation and calm description.

loveeveryday minutiaeexistential reflection

Wer zuerst lacht

1997 Short fiction / Prose

A collection of short pieces combining humor and quiet observation, revealing the oddities and comic aspects of human behavior.

humorobservationhuman absurdity

Silberpfeile

2000 Novel / Prose

Deals with themes of the past and movement; elements reflect the author's early interest in motorcycles and travel.

movementpasttravel

Palace of Flies

2009 Novel / Prose

A long prose work written in quiet, poetic language, centering on memory and the gaze toward things that fade away.

memorydecaysilence
Translations
  • English translation: Palace of Flies, translated by Georg Bauer (New Vessel Press, 2022)

Bibliography

  • Nur fliegen ist schöner. Salzburg 1973.
  • Morgen. Salzburg 1975.
  • Die Werkstatt. Salzburg 1975.
  • Rosina. Stuttgart 1978 (Deuticke, Vienna 2010 reissue).
  • Die irdische Liebe. Stuttgart 1979.
  • Die Jahre vergehen. Screenplay (with Peter Keglevic) 1980.
  • Der lange Brief. Stuttgart 1982.
  • Gipskopf. Graz 1984.
  • Cerreto. Aufzeichnungen aus der Toscana. Salzburg 1989.
  • Touristomania oder Die Fiktion vom aufrechten Gang. Vienna 1990.
  • Ein Amateur. Vienna 1993.
  • Wer zuerst lacht. Vienna 1997.
  • Silberpfeile. Vienna 2000.
  • Selina oder Das andere Leben. Vienna 2005.
  • Hellseher sind oft Schwarzseher. Erinnerungen an Erwin Chargaff. 2007.
  • Der Fliegenpalast. Residenz Verlag 2009.
  • Schönheit des Vergehens. Photo book 2009.
  • Marilyn Monroe liest Ulysses. Notes, finds and thirteen photographs. 2010.
  • Land der roten Steine. Hanser Verlag, Munich 2012.
  • Die Amseln von Parsch and other prose. 2013.
  • Der vierundzwanzigste Mai. 2013.
  • Trakls letzte Tage & Mahlers Heimkehr. 2014.
  • Ich erinnere mich and other prose. 2018.

Adaptations

  • Die Jahre vergehen (screenplay/telefilm) — co-written; director: Peter Keglevic, 1980
  • Several radio dramas and teleplays adapted from his works (details vary)

Translations of Works

  • Der Fliegenpalast → English: Palace of Flies (translated by Georg Bauer, New Vessel Press, 2022)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Dense, quiet prose often described as 'Hochquellprosa'Observational and introspective narrative voice
Recurring Motifs
silencememorytravelpassage of timedecay / loss

Legacy

Walter Kappacher was regarded as a solitary yet meticulous voice in contemporary Austrian and German-language literature. His oeuvre, characterized by meditations on memory, silence and everyday detail, gained wider recognition following honors such as the Georg Büchner Prize in 2009.

Academic Societies

  • Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung
  • PEN Club Austria

Archives

  • German National Library (catalogue entries and holdings related to his works)

Quotes

  • He writes a kind of 'Hochquellprosa'. An endless amount of work goes into a style that at first goes unnoticed.
    Source: Erwin Chargaff (quoted) (2009)

Trivia

  • Worked as an apprentice motorcycle mechanic in his youth.
  • Cared for his widowed mother for many years.
  • Quit his day job in 1978 to become a full-time writer.
  • Published Ich erinnere mich on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
  • Der Fliegenpalast was translated into English and published by New Vessel Press in 2022.