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Wolfgang Hilbig

ヴォルフガング・ヒルビヒ

Wolfgang Hilbig

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1941-08-31 （Meuselwitz, Germany）
Died
2007-06-02 （Berlin, Germany） age 65
Nationality
German
Languages
German
Residence History
East Berlin (moved 1978) → Berlin (after fall of the Berlin Wall)

Career

Occupations
writer, poet
Active Years
1978-2007
Influenced By
Franz Fühmann (supporter/influence)

Awards

Brothers Grimm Prize of the City of Hanau
1983
Organization: City of Hanau
Result: 受賞
Ingeborg Bachmann Prize
1989
Work: Eine Übertragung
Organization: Ingeborg Bachmann Prize (organizers)
Result: 受賞
Berlin Literature Prize
1992
Organization: Berlin literary organization
Result: 受賞
Brandenburg Literature Prize
1993
Organization: State of Brandenburg
Result: 受賞
Fontane Prize
1997
Organization: Berlin Academy of Arts
Result: 受賞
Georg Büchner Prize
2002
Organization: Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (awarding body)
Result: 受賞
Walter Bauer Prize
2002
Result: 受賞
Peter Huchel Prize
2002
Category: 詩
Result: 受賞
Erwin Strittmatter Prize
2007
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Eine Übertragung

1989 novel

A novel exploring alienation and memory in East Germany. Reflects personal experience and societal pressures, receiving critical attention.

alienationmemoryindividual vs. society
Translations
  • Eine Übertragung (no specific English translation listed)

»Ich« ("I")

1993 novel

A work experimenting with selfhood and narration, focusing on memory and identity.

identitymemorynarration
Translations
  • Ich — translated by Isabel Fargo Cole (Seagull Books, 2015)

The Interim (Das Provisorium)

2000 novel

Set against the transitional period of German reunification, depicting social upheaval and individual survival.

transitionsocial changesurvival
Translations
  • Das Provisorium — translated by Isabel Fargo Cole (Two Lines Press, 2021)

Under the Neomoon (Unterm Neomond)

1982 short stories / prose

An early collection of short stories portraying everyday life and oppression in East Germany.

surveillancelaboralienation
Translations
  • Under the Neomoon — translated by Isabel Fargo Cole (Two Lines Press, 2024)

Bibliography

  • Abwesenheit (1979)
  • Stimme Stimme (1983)
  • Unterm Neomond (1982)
  • Eine Übertragung (1989)
  • »Ich« (1993)
  • Das Provisorium (2000)
  • Der Schlaf der Gerechten (2002)

Translations of Works

  • Ich — trans. Isabel Fargo Cole (Seagull Books, 2015)
  • The Interim — trans. Isabel Fargo Cole (Two Lines Press, 2021)
  • The Sleep of the Righteous — trans. Isabel Fargo Cole (Two Lines Press, 2015)
  • The Females — trans. Isabel Fargo Cole (Two Lines Press, 2018)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
concise, austere proserestrained descriptioncalm observational voice
Recurring Motifs
work and factoriesalienation and isolationmemory and traces of the past

Health

  • cancer
    2007年までの数年
    Died of cancer in 2007. Likely affected his late-period productivity.

Legacy

Regarded as an important writer and poet from East Germany, Hilbig left a significant mark on contemporary German literature. His explorations of individual vs. state, memory, and alienation earned him major literary awards.

Academic Societies

  • Sächsische Akademie der Künste (associated)
  • Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste (associated)

Trivia

  • His grandfather emigrated from Biłgoraj (then part of Congress Poland) before World War I.
  • After 1979 he worked as a full-time writer, but under the GDR many of his works were unpublished or censored.
  • He was fined for the publication of his poetry (e.g. Abwesenheit published by S. Fischer).
  • In 1985 he left East Germany on a travel visa and moved to West Germany.
  • Married writer Natascha Wodin in 1994; divorced in 2002.