Arnold Stadler (born 1954) is a German writer,

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

ist and translator.

Life

He was born on 9 April 1954 in

Meßkirch Meßkirch (; Swabian: ''Mässkirch'') is a town in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The town was the residence of the counts of Zimmern, widely known through Count Froben Christoph's '' Zimmern Chronicle'' (1559� ...

in the district of

Sigmaringen Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen, ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Stadler grew up on a farm in Rast, a small village adjoining Sauldorf, a neighboring village of his birthplace Meßkirch. Stadler studied catholic theology in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, German philology at

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

and

Köln Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, ending with a doctoral degree (Dr. phil.). The first serious and prominent recommendation regarding his works came 1994 of

Martin Walser Martin Johannes Walser (; 24 March 1927 – 26 July 2023) was a German writer, known especially as a novelist. He began his career as journalist for ''Süddeutscher Rundfunk'', where he wrote and directed audio plays. He was a member of Group 47 ...

(

Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

No. 31 from 1 August 1994). The partial autobiographically affected works play frequently in his region of origin (''Heimat''), the landscape between the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

and the

Lake of Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...

. The change of this rurally shaped area and its homelessness (''Heimatlosigkeit'') are recurring topics in his literary works.

Literature awards and distinctions

*1989 Literature Award (''Literaturförderpreis'') of the Jürgen Ponto Stiftung *1994

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophic ...

Award (''Förderpreis'') for ''Feuerland'' *1995 Nicolas Born Prize of the Hubert Burda Stiftung *1996

Thaddäus-Troll-Preis Thaddäus-Troll-Preis is a literary prize awarded by the ''Förderkreis deutscher Schriftsteller in Baden-Württemberg'', an organization that supports and sponsors writers in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The prize is awarded annually ...

*1996 Culture Prize "Der Feldweg" of the Museum Society

Wald, Baden-Württemberg Wald () is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north ...

*1997 Mark Brandenburg Scholarship for literature (''Märkisches Stipendium für Literatur'') *1998 Marie Luise Kaschnitz Prize *1998/1999

Stadtschreiber von Bergen The Stadtschreiber von Bergen ('City clerk of Bergen') is an annual German literary award. The prize money is €20,000 with one year of free living in the town clerk's house in Bergen-Enkheim, Frankfurt, "An der Oberpforte 4". It was the first S ...

*1999 Alemannischer Literaturpreis *1999

Georg Büchner Prize The Georg Büchner Prize () is the most important literary prize for German language literature. The award is named after dramatist and writer Georg Büchner, author of '' Woyzeck'' and '' Leonce and Lena''. The Georg Büchner Prize is awarded an ...

*2002 Medal for Merit of the state of

*2002 Participating Max Kade

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

at the

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

*2004

Stefan Andres Stefan Paul Andres (26 June 1906 – 29 June 1970) was a German novelist. As the Nazi regime flexed its power, Andres moved away to Italy in 1937, returning to Germany 13 years later. He was a widely read German writer in the post-World War ...

Prize *2004/2005 Scholarship holder of the International Künstlerhaus Villa Concordia in

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

*2006

Honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

of the Freien Universität Berlin (Faculty for historical and cultural sciences; Seminar for catholic theology; Laudatorin:

Annette Schavan Annette Schavan (; born 10 June 1955) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She was the Federal Minister of Education and Research in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2005 to 2013, when she resigned foll ...

). *2009

Kleist Prize The Kleist Prize is an annual German literature prize. The prize was first awarded in 1912, on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the death of Heinrich von Kleist. The Kleist Prize was the most important literary award of the Weimar Rep ...

(destined by

Péter Esterházy Péter Esterházy (14 April 1950 – 14 July 2016) was a Hungarian writer. He was one of the best known Hungarian and Central European writers of his era. He was called a "leading figure of 20th century Hungarian literature", and his books were ...

) *2010 Johann Peter Hebel Prize *2014 Bodensee-Literaturpreis Stadler is member of the foundation board for the

Peace Prize of the German Book Trade is an international list of peace prizes, peace prize awarded annually by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (), which runs the Frankfurt Book Fair. The award ceremony is held in the Frankfurter Paulskirche, Paulskirche in Frankfurt. T ...

Works

* ''Kein Herz und keine Seele. Man muss es singen können'', Gedichte, Erker-Verlag, St. Gallen 1986 * ''Das Buch der Psalmen und die deutschsprachige Lyrik des 20. Jahrhunderts. Zu den Psalmen im Werk Bertolt Brechts und Paul Celans'' (= Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Phil. Fak. der Univ. Köln, vorgelegt von A. Stadler 1986), Böhlau Verlag, Köln, Wien 1989 * ''Ich war einmal'', Roman, Residenz, Salzburg 1989 * ''Feuerland'', Roman, Residenz, Salzburg 1992 * ''Mein Hund, meine Sau, mein Leben'', Roman, Residenz, Salzburg 1994 * ''Warum toben die Heiden und andere Psalmen'', Residenz, Salzburg 1995 * ''Gedichte aufs Land'', mit Offsetlithografien von Hildegard Pütz, Eremiten-Presse, Düsseldorf 1995 * ''Der Tod und ich, wir zwei'', Residenz, Salzburg 1996 * ''Johann Peter Hebels Unvergänglichkeit'', Mayer, Berlin/Stuttgart 1997 * ''Ausflug nach Afrika. Eine Wintergeschichte'', Edition Isele, Eggingen 1997 * ''Volubilis oder Meine Reisen ans Ende der Welt'', Erzählungen, Edition Isele, Eggingen 1999 * ''Ein hinreissender Schrotthändler'', Roman, DuMont, Köln 1999, Taschenbuch Goldmann, München 2001 * ''Die Menschen lügen. Alle. Und andere Psalmen'', Insel, Frankfurt a.M. 1999 * ''Erbarmen mit dem Seziermesser'', Essays, DuMont, Köln 2000 * ''Tohuwabohu. Heiliges und Profanes, gelesen und wiedergelesen von Arnold Stadler nach dem 11. September 2001'', Anthologie, DuMont, Köln, August 2002 * ''Sehnsucht. Versuch über das erste Mal'', Roman, DuMont, Köln, August 2002 * ''Eines Tages, vielleicht auch nachts'', Roman, Jung und Jung, 2003 * ''Mein Stifter. Porträt eines Selbstmörders in spe'', DuMont, Köln 2005 * ''Komm, gehen wir.'' Roman, S. Fischer, Frankfurt a. M. 2007 * ''Salvatore'', S. Fischer, Frankfurt a. M. 2008 * ''Träumen vom Fliegen'', mit dem Fotokünstler Jan von Holleben, Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg 2008 * ''Einmal auf der Welt. Und dann so.'' Roman (kompilierte, überarbeitete und erweiterte Fassung der Romane ''Ich war einmal'', ''Feuerland'' und ''Mein Hund, meine Sau, mein Leben''), S. Fischer, Frankfurt a. M. 2009 * ''New York machen wir das nächste Mal. Geschichten aus dem Zweistromland'', S. Fischer, Frankfurt a. M. 2011 * ''Auf dem Weg nach Winterreute: Ein Ausflug in die Welt des Malers Jakob Bräckle'', Jung und Jung, Salzburg, Wien 2012 * ''Da steht ein großes JA vor mir. Zu einer Arbeit von Margaret Marquardt''. Jung und Jung, Salzburg 2013, . * ''Bilder als Partituren des Lebens: Ein Ausflug in die Welt des Malers Jakob Braeckle. Eine Vergegenwärtigung''. Steiner, Stuttgart 2013, . * ''Rauschzeit''. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2016, .

Literature

* Irene Armbruster: ''Büchner-Preisträger Arnold Stadler in New York. Kein Landei''; in: "Aufbau" No. 8, New York, April 20, 2000; p. 7. *

: ''Über das Verbergen der Verzweiflung''; in: "DER SPIEGEL" Nr. 29/1999, Hamburg, 19. Juli 1999; S. 161–162. * Stuart Taberner: ''Contemporary German Fiction: Writing in the Berlin Republic''. Cambridge University Press, 2007, * Gregory Alexander Knott: ''Arnold Stadler and the metaphysics of Heimat''. Thesis (Ph. D.), Washington University, 2007

External links

*
The Scrap Dealer (or An adorable junk dealer)
(''Ein hinreissender Schrotthändler'') − Abstract
Biography • The 7th International Literature Festival Berlin

Arnold Stadler: Die Kirche sollte im Dorf bleiben. Wie hält man's mit der Religion im multikulturellen Europa?. – In: taz, 15.04.2006

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stadler, Arnold 1954 births Living people People from Meßkirch 20th-century German novelists 21st-century German novelists Kleist Prize winners Georg Büchner Prize winners German male novelists German male dramatists and playwrights Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg 20th-century German dramatists and playwrights 21st-century German dramatists and playwrights 20th-century German male writers 21st-century German male writers Washington University in St. Louis faculty