Sibylle Lewitscharoff
- Ingeborg Bachmann Prize
- Georg Büchner Prize
Sibylle Lewitscharoff (German: [ziˈbɪlə leviˈtʃaːʁɔf]; 16 April 1954 – 13 May 2023) was a German author. She first wrote in her spare time as a bookkeeper, quitting after her first novel, Pong, appeared in 1998. Pong was successful with critics and the public, earning her the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize. It was followed by Consummatus [de] (2006), Apostoloff [de] (2009) and Blumenberg [de] (2011). She received several German literary awards, including the Georg Büchner Prize in 2013, for "[re-exploring] the boundaries of what we consider our daily reality with an inexhaustible energy of observation, narrative fantasy and linguistic inventiveness."[1].
Early life
Lewitscharoff was born in Stuttgart. Her parents were Kristo Lewitscharoff, a gynecologist who had immigrated from Bulgaria, and Marianne, a German woman. She grew up with a brother, who went on to manage a Berlin-based advertising company that Lewitscharoff later worked under as a bookkeeper[2]. Her father suffered from depression and committed suicide when she was eleven years old.[1][3]
She obtained her Abitur from a Protestant gymnasium for girls in 1972, and then studied theology and sociology at the Free University of Berlin.[1] She moved to Buenos Aires for an extended study trip of one year in 1977.[4] When she returned to Berlin the following year she began work as a bookkeeper in her brother's company, a job that she kept for decades. She graduated in 1982, and studied further in Paris in 1984.[3]
Literary career
Lewitscharoff started her writing career by writing for radio, including radio plays.[4] Her first book, 36 Gerechte, appeared in 1994.[4]
In 1998, she published her first novel Pong.[4] The novel is named after its main character, a man who has been interpreted by reviewers as possibly being insane, and possibly not being fully human. His name originates from his ability to bounce like a ball. He is obsessed with human perfection, especially that of women, and is portrayed as a misogynist. He meets a woman called Evmarie whom he eventually marries. He puts her on a rooftop to shelter two eggs which ultimately become a boy and a girl, who in turn have their own offspring. The book ends with Pong's joyous cry as he commits suicide by jumping from the roof. The book was praised for its playful language and earned Lewitscharoff the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize. Two years after its publication, she quit her day job and focused on writing.[4]
Published in 2006, her novel Consummatus [de] is named for the last saying of Jesus on the cross according to the Gospel of John, "consummatum est [it is completed]".[4] The book follows the inner monologue of German teacher Ralph Zimmermann and as he sits alone in a Stuttgart café drinking vodka and coffee. His thoughts circle around death; of both of his parents from an accident, of his girlfriend Johanna (Joey), and of pop icons such as Andy Warhol, Jim Morrison and Edie Sedgwick.[5]
Her 2009 novel Apostoloff [de] is partly autobiographical, and features two sisters who go to Bulgaria to bury their Bulgarian immigrant father who had committed suicide by hanging himself, while their chauffeur tries to interest them in the nature and culture of Bulgaria.[6] The book earned Lewitscharoff the Leipzig Book Fair Prize and the Marie Luise Kaschnitz Prize.[1]
The novel Blumenberg [de] was published in 2011 and features philosopher Hans Blumenberg, who in the novel finds a lion at his desk. The book subsequently focuses on Blumenberg's thoughts on lions in philosophy, history and theology. Lines are drawn to Hieronymus, Marc, Thomas Mann and other historical figures related to lions. The appearance of the lion makes Blumenberg feel selected. The novel also describes four of Blumenberg's students.[7]
In 2013 she received the Georg Büchner Prize for "[re-exploring] the boundaries of what we consider our daily reality with an inexhaustible energy of observation, narrative fantasy and linguistic inventiveness."[1] She was a scholar at the Villa Massimo then.[1]
In 2014, she published her first crime novel, Killmousky. The novel is named after a black cat that arrives at the home of a retired police officer who names the cat after a similar cat in Midsomer Murders.[8][9] The police officer has retired after he used violence against a suspect in a kidnapping case in order to get information to find the kidnapped. He goes on to take a position as a private detective for an upper-class New Yorker who wants a possible murder solved. The book received mostly mixed reviews.[8][9]
Lewitscharoff received praise for her playful mastery of language, described by the jury of the Berlin Literature Prize in 2010 as "uncommonly dense and original prose works ... that oppose all classifications with their own peculiar amalgam of humor and profundity. ... Lewitscharoff's poetic gesture is a brilliant recitative, a virtuoso rhetoric."[4] In 2011, she was described in Die Welt as "the most dazzling stylist of contemporary German literature."[1]
Literature expert Ulrike Veder puts Lewitscharoff in the magical realism tradition and has further expressed on Lewitscharoff's writing that "It's the constellation of profound knowledge and a writing style that is funny and headstrong and that not only plays with language but actually enriches the language."[1]
Invited to write about her favourite authors, she wrote the essay Der Dichter als Kind (The poet as a child), including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, Gottfried Keller, Karl Philipp Moritz, Clemens Brentano and Bettina Brentano. She named Clemens Brentano her favourite.[10]
Dresden speech
On 2 March 2014, Lewitscharoff gave the traditional Dresdner Rede (Dresden Speech) at the Dresden Staatsschauspiel.[11] In the speech "Von der Machbarkeit. Die wissenschaftliche Bestimmung über Geburt und Tod"[12] she criticised what she considered medical mechanisation of reproduction and death. She voiced opposition to artificial insemination and surrogacy referring to the offspring through such methods as "twilight creatures", "half human, half artificial I-don't-know-whats". The speech caused discussion and criticism. Lewitscharoff later said she regretted a couple of phrases, but that her main points stood.[13]
Personal life
Lewitscharoff was married from 1990 to the artist Friedrich Meckseper [de]. He provided illustrations to a 2013 edition of Pong. They lived in Berlin where he died in 2019.[14] Her religious faith was shaped by her maternal grandmother, who lived with the family when she was a child. Although a Lutheran, she was influenced by the Catholic tradition on many moral issues.[10]
Lewitscharoff was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2010.[11] She died in Berlin[15] on 13 May 2023, at age 69.[11][15]
Awards
- Ingeborg Bachmann Prize (1998)[1][4]
- Member of Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (2007)[4]
- Marie Luise Kaschnitz Prize (2009)[1]
- Leipzig Book Fair Prize (2009)[1]
- Ricarda-Huch-Preis (2011)[4]
- Marieluise-Fleißer-Preis (2011)[4]
- Wilhelm Raabe Literature Prize (2011)[4]
- Georg Büchner Prize (2013)[1]
- Brothers Grimm Poetics Professorship at University of Kassel (2013)[1]
Novels
- 36 Gerechte. Steinrötter, Münster 1994, ISBN 3-927024-00-7.
- Pong. Berlin Verlag, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-8270-0285-0.
- Der höfliche Harald. Berlin Verlag, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-8270-0349-0.
- Montgomery. DVA, Stuttgart / München 2003, ISBN 978-3-421-05680-1.
- Consummatus [de]. DVA, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-421-05596-3.
- Apostoloff [de]. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 3-518-42061-5.
- Blumenberg [de]. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-518-42244-1; als TB: Suhrkamp-Taschenbuch 4399, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-518-46399-4.
- With Friedrich Meckseper: Pong redivivus. Insel, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-458-19383-8.
- Killmousky. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-518-42390-5.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Georg Büchner Prize – DW – 06/04/2013". dw.com. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ "Science Meets School: 2nd Scharfenberg Lecture with Sibylle Lewitscharoff". Schering Stiftung. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Sibylle Lewitscharoff – Munzinger Biographie". www.munzinger.de. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Meet the Germans – Typically German – The Eloquent – Sibylle Lewitscharoff – Goethe Institut". 13 June 2014. Archived from the original on 13 June 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ "ZEIT ONLINE | Lesen Sie zeit.de mit Werbung oder im PUR-Abo. Sie haben die Wahl". www.zeit.de. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ Lewitscharoff, Sibylle. Apostoloff. The German List. Translated by Derbyshire, Katy. Seagull Books.
- ^ Patzer, Von Georg. "Blumenberg und sein Löwe – Sibylle Lewitscharoff lässt ihre Leser ratlos mit dem für den Buchpreis nominierten Roman "Blumenberg" zurück : literaturkritik.de". literaturkritik.de (in German). Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ a b Germany, Stuttgarter Zeitung, Stuttgart. "Lewitscharoffs Roman "Killmousky": Die Katze lässt das Mausen nicht". stuttgarter-zeitung.de (in German). Retrieved 18 May 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b deutschlandfunkkultur.de. "Roman – Das große Krimi-Puzzle". Deutschlandfunk Kultur (in German). Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ a b Platthaus, Andreas (16 April 2014). "Sibylle Lewitscharoff wird 60". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ a b c Schaper, Rainer (14 May 2023). "Im Alter von 69 Jahren – Hoch gelobt und tief gefallen: Sibylle Lewitscharoff gestorben". SRF (in German).
- ^ Lewitscharoff, Sibylle: (2014) Von der Machbarkeit. Die wissenschaftliche Bestimmung über Geburt und Tod Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Staatsschauspiel-dresden.de. Retrieved 16 March 2015
- ^ Oltermann, Philip (28 March 2014). "Why Sibylle Lewitscharoff's case for a new puritanism lacks substance". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ Knöfel, Ulrike (7 June 2019). "Friedrich Meckseper: Der Maler und Grafiker ist mit 82 gestorben". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Trauer um Sibylle Lewitscharoff". tagesschau. Archived from the original on 14 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
External links
Media related to Sibylle Lewitscharoff at Wikimedia Commons
- v
- t
- e
- 1923 Adam Karrillon and Arnold Mendelssohn
- 1924 Alfred Bock and Paul Thesing
- 1925 Wilhelm Michel and Rudolf Koch
- 1926 Christian Heinrich Kleukens and Wilhelm Petersen
- 1927 Kasimir Edschmid and Johannes Bischoff
- 1928 Richard Hoelscher and Well Habicht
- 1929 Carl Zuckmayer and Adam Antes
- 1930 Nikolaus Schwarzkopf and Johannes Lippmann
- 1931 Alexander Posch and Hans Simon
- 1932 Albert H. Rausch and Adolf Bode
- 1933–1944 not given
- 1945 Hans Schiebelhuth
- 1946 Fritz Usinger
- 1947 Anna Seghers
- 1948 Hermann Heiss
- 1949 Carl Gunschmann
- 1950 Elisabeth Langgässer
- 1951 Gottfried Benn
- 1952 not given
- 1953 Ernst Kreuder
- 1954 Martin Kessel
- 1955 Marie Luise Kaschnitz
- 1956 Karl Krolow
- 1957 Erich Kästner
- 1958 Max Frisch
- 1959 Günter Eich
- 1960 Paul Celan
- 1961 Hans Erich Nossack
- 1962 Wolfgang Koeppen
- 1963 Hans Magnus Enzensberger
- 1964 Ingeborg Bachmann
- 1965 Günter Grass
- 1966 Wolfgang Hildesheimer
- 1967 Heinrich Böll
- 1968 Golo Mann
- 1969 Helmut Heißenbüttel
- 1970 Thomas Bernhard
- 1971 Uwe Johnson
- 1972 Elias Canetti
- 1973 Peter Handke
- 1974 Hermann Kesten
- 1975 Manès Sperber
- 1976 Heinz Piontek
- 1977 Reiner Kunze
- 1978 Hermann Lenz
- 1979 Ernst Meister
- 1980 Christa Wolf
- 1981 Martin Walser
- 1982 Peter Weiss
- 1983 Wolfdietrich Schnurre
- 1984 Ernst Jandl
- 1985 Heiner Müller
- 1986 Friedrich Dürrenmatt
- 1987 Erich Fried
- 1988 Albert Drach
- 1989 Botho Strauß
- 1990 Tankred Dorst
- 1991 Wolf Biermann
- 1992 George Tabori
- 1993 Peter Rühmkorf
- 1994 Adolf Muschg
- 1995 Durs Grünbein
- 1996 Sarah Kirsch
- 1997 H. C. Artmann
- 1998 Elfriede Jelinek
- 1999 Arnold Stadler
- 2000 Volker Braun
- 2001 Friederike Mayröcker
- 2002 Wolfgang Hilbig
- 2003 Alexander Kluge
- 2004 Wilhelm Genazino
- 2005 Brigitte Kronauer
- 2006 Oskar Pastior
- 2007 Martin Mosebach
- 2008 Josef Winkler
- 2009 Walter Kappacher
- 2010 Reinhard Jirgl
- 2011 Friedrich Christian Delius
- 2012 Felicitas Hoppe
- 2013 Sibylle Lewitscharoff
- 2014 Jürgen Becker
- 2015 Rainald Goetz
- 2016 Marcel Beyer
- 2017 Jan Wagner
- 2018 Terézia Mora
- 2019 Lukas Bärfuss
- 2020 Elke Erb
- 2021 Clemens J. Setz
- 2022 Emine Sevgi Özdamar
- 2023: Lutz Seiler