Ralf Rothmann (born 10 May 1953 in Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein) is a German novelist, poet, and dramatist. His novels have been translated into several languages, with Knife Edge (Messers Schneide) and Young Light (Junges Licht) being translated into English.[1] The main subjects of his work are the bourgeois and proletarian realities of life in the Ruhr area (e.g., Stier, Wäldernacht, Milch und Kohle) as well as Berlin (Flieh mein Freund, Hitze, Feuer brennt nicht), with an autobiographically colored focus on alienation, the attempt to escape these situations, and common solitude. Feuer brennt nicht (2009) is a moving portrait of an artist-writer torn between two women paying a high price for infidelity. It is now (2012) available in English translation as Fire doesn't burn, published by Seagull Books.
Works
- Messers Schneide (stories). 1986. ISBN 3-518-38133-4 - engl. edition as Knife Edge. 1992
- Kratzer und andere Gedichte (poems). 1987. ISBN 3-518-02657-7
- Der Windfisch (story). 1988. ISBN 3-518-40129-7
- Stier (novel). 1991. ISBN 3-518-22364-X
- Wäldernacht (novel). 1994. ISBN 3-518-39082-1
- Berlin Blues. Ein Schauspiel (play). ISBN 3-518-39082-1
- Flieh, mein Freund! (novel). 1998. ISBN 3-518-45505-2
- Milch und Kohle (novel). 2000. ISBN 3-518-39809-1
- Gebet in Ruinen (poems). 2000. ISBN 3-518-41168-3
- Ein Winter unter Hirschen (stories). 2001. ISBN 3-518-45524-9
- Hitze (novel). 2003. ISBN 3-518-41396-1
- Junges Licht (novel). 2004. ISBN 3-518-41640-5 - engl. edition Young Light. Seagull Books, 2010
- Rehe am Meer (stories). 2006. ISBN 3-518-41825-4
- Vollkommene Stille (speech at the presentation of the Max Frisch Prize). 2006
- Feuer brennt nicht (novel). 2009. ISBN 3-518-42063-1 - engl. edition Fire Doesn't Burn. Seagull Books, 2012
- Shakespeares Hühner (stories). 2012.
- Im Frühling sterben (novel). 2015. ISBN 3-518-42475-0 - engl. edition To Die in Spring. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and Picador (Pan Macmillan) 2017
- Der Gott jenes Sommers (novel). 2018. ISBN 978-3-518-42793-4 - engl. edition The God of that Summer. Picador (Pan Macmillan) 2022
- Hotel der Schlaflosen (stories). 2020.
- Die Nacht unterm Schnee (novel). 2022.
- Theorie des Regens (notes). 2023.
Awards
- 1986: Märkisches Stipendium für Literatur for Kratzer
- 1992: Mara-Cassens-Preis
- 1992/1993: Stadtschreiber von Bergen
- 1996: Literaturpreis Ruhr
- 2001: Hermann-Lenz-Preis
- 2002: Kranichsteiner Literaturpreis
- 2003: Evangelischer Buchpreis
- 2004: Wilhelm Raabe Literature Prize
- 2004: Rheingau Literatur Preis
- 2005: Heinrich-Böll-Preis
- 2006: Max Frisch Preis of the City of Zürich
- 2007: Erik-Reger-Preis
- 2008: Literaturpreis der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
- 2008: Hans Fallada Preis
- 2010: Walter-Hasenclever-Literaturpreis
- 2013: Friedrich-Hölderlin-Preis of the City of Bad Homburg
- 2014: Kunst- und Kulturpreis der deutschen Katholiken
- 2016: Stefan-Andres-Preis
- 2017: Kleist Preis
- 2017: Gerty-Spies-Literaturpreis
- 2018: Premio San Clemente (Spain)
- 2018: Uwe Johnson Preis
- 2018: HWA Gold Crown for Historical Fiction (England)
- 2023: Thomas-Mann-Preis
External links
- Ralf Rothmann in: NRW Literatur im Netz (in German)
Web sources
- ↑ Rothmann, Ralf (January 2, 1992). Knife Edge. New Directions Publishing. ISBN 9780811212045 – via Google Books.