Klaus Ebner (born 8 August 1964) is an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n writer, essayist, poet, and translator. Born and raised in Vienna, he began writing at an early age. He started submitting stories to magazines in the 1980s, and also published articles and books on

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

topics after 1989. Ebner's poetry is written in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and Catalan; he also translates

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and Catalan literature into German. He is a member of several Austrian writers associations, including the

Grazer Autorenversammlung The Grazer Autorinnen Autorenversammlung (GAV) was founded under the name of ''Grazer Autorenversammlung'' in March 1973 and is one of the two major Austrian writers' association (besides the Austrian PEN). H. C. Artmann was its first president. ...

. His works include cultural essays on Catalan topics, and stories dealing with Jewish traditions. His first collection of short stories was printed in 2007. In 2008, Ebner published the short novel '' Hominide''. He has received several literature awards, among them the Youth Prize ''Erster Österreichischer Jugendpreis'' in 1982, and the Viennese ''Wiener Werkstattpreis'' in 2007. Austrian critics, such as Wolfgang Ratz, have praised Ebner's prose-style. The writer lives in Vienna with his family.

Life

Klaus Ebner was born on 8 August 1964 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where he grew up.Biographical note o
the author's official website
, retrieved on 2009-02-12. His mother, Ingeborg (b. 1944), worked as a hairdresser and his father, Walter (1939–1996), was a salesman who sold home entertainment products in the 1970s and later. His sister was born in 1969; the family moved one year later. Ebner attended Secondary School for eight years, and his first writing experiences date back to this time; at the age of twelve he wrote a short

theater play A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. The creator of a play is known as a playwright. Plays are staged at various levels, ranging fr ...

and rehearsed it with his friends at school. However, the play was never performed. In 1982, after a one-month university trip to

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Ebner began studying

Romance languages The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...

, German philology, and

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

. At this time he was already working for a literary circle and Viennese literature magazine. After graduation in 1988 and 1989 he concentrated on various professional careers, such as translation, foreign language teaching and IT projects. In the 1990s, Ebner published articles and books on software and networking topics; while these books were written in German, he also wrote some articles in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. In 1999, he spent six weeks in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and was the co-author of a book in English about PC servers. In 2001, while studying European economics at a Viennese

university of applied sciences A vocational university or university of applied sciences (UAS), less commonly called a polytechnic university is an institution of higher education and increasingly research that provides applied professional education and grants academic de ...

, he authored a paper about

Islamism Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, which was published 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 and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 2001. He also wrote several stories dealing with the Muslim civilization, such as in "Momentaufnahme" ("Snapshot") and "Flug sechs-zwo-zwo" ("Flight six-two-two)", "orgiastisch" ("orgiastic") and others. Ebner lives in Vienna with his family. He is a member of the Austrian writers' associations

(GAV) and

Österreichischer Schriftstellerverband The Austrian Writers' Association (German: ''Österreichischer Schriftstellerverband'', abbr. ''OESV'') has been founded in 1945 and was thus one of the first Austrian professional associations after World War II. The association fosters the commun ...

(ÖSV).

Work

Since graduating from school, Ebner has written short

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

and

radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

s. His work has been published in

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

and cultural magazines such as ''Sterz'', one of the largest literary magazine from

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

, Austria, and in ''Lesezirkel'', which was owned by the Viennese daily newspaper

Wiener Zeitung ''Wiener Zeitung'' () is an Austrian newspaper. First published as the ''Wiennerisches Diarium'' in 1703, it is one of the oldest newspapers in the world. Until April 2023, it was the official gazette of the government of the Republic of Austria ...

. The topic of his 1988 master's

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

(''Diplomarbeit''), written in French, was titled "The Image of the Catalan Countries in French literature from Romanticism till Today". Excerpts of a ''Catalan Diary'', containing travel journals and comments on Catalan culture, were published in 1987, and in several essays he discusses Catalan culture. Increasing professional obligations after the birth of his first son in 1987 coincided with a reduction in his literary output. During the 1990s he instead focused his attention on his novel ''Feuers Geraun''. Two early versions of this novel's chapters were published by the

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

n magazine ''die Rampe'' in 1994 (''Der Schreiber von Aram'') and 1997 (''Das Gesetz''). These chapters deal with Jewish and biblical traditions. The publishing list on Ebner's website lists only six publications in anthologies by 2004, but seventeen are listed from between 2005 and 2008. Ebner has additionally written narrative fiction (novels, short stories, short prose), essays and poems. His poetry is written in German and Catalan. Supported by a subsidy for literature from the Austrian government, he went to

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

in 2007 to write an essay about the country in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

. He also translated the novel ''L'Absent'' written by the Catalan author Josep Navarro Santaeulàlia, into German. Ebner's cultural essays about Catalan culture, such as that of Barcelona and Andorra, have been published by the magazines ''

Literatur und Kritik The Austrian literary magazine ''Literatur und Kritik'' (''Literature and Critical Reviews'') was founded in April 1966 by the Austrian writers Rudolf Henz, Gerhard Fritsch, and Paul Kruntorad as successor of the literary publication ''Wort in der ...

'' and ''Zitig''. His first collection of short stories, ''Lose'' (''Destinies''), was published in 2007. Of its 45 stories, twenty-two had already been printed in newspapers, literary magazines or anthologies. In 2008, Ebner published two other books of narrative fiction, among them the short novel '' Hominide''.

Style of writing

Ebner's short stories in particular cover a multitude of topics, which, as critic Julia Rafael states, treat actual and socially relevant problems. She describes the stories included in the anthology ''Lose'' as "somewhat imploding" and says that "phantasms, irony and humor have their place, too".Rafael, J.: ''Critic review'' of the book ''Lose'', in: Literarisches Österreich nr. 1 (2008), page 27. Moreover, Ebner's

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

s have been described as "passing beyond reality without losing ground". According to journalist Paul C. Jezek, Ebner's writing style is characterized by very careful and acerbic wording. Each sentence has a melody; his short prose especially sounds lyrical. Jezek compares Ebner's sentences to "Japanese paintings – every word has been chosen with special care". Austrian writer and critic Wolfgang Ratz made a similar observation, drawing attention to "the accurateness of Ebner's speech" and "his affinity with formal details", while singling out the sarcastic stridency of the critical stories.

Awards and accomplishments

In 1982, Ebner was awarded the Youth Prize for Literature (''Großer Österreichischer Jugendpreis'') for his novella ''Das Brandmal'' (''The Stigma''), which had attracted the attention of Austrian critic and jury member

Hans Weigel Julius Hans Weigel (29 May 1908, Vienna – 12 August 1991, Maria Enzersdorf) was an Austrian Jewish writer and a theater critic. He lived in Vienna, except during the period between 1938 and 1945, when he lived in exile in Switzerland. He wa ...

. Weigel compared Ebner to Austria's 19th century novella writer

Ferdinand von Saar Ferdinand Ludwig Adam von Saar (30 September 1833 in Vienna, Austrian Empire, Austria – 24 July 1906 in Döbling) was an Austrian novelist, playwright and poet. Together with Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach he was one of the most important realisti ...

. The novella tells the story of a young community servant who, through his service, becomes acquainted with a seemingly bewildered pensioner; a Viennese Jew whose bewilderment is a direct consequence of his experiences in a

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

during the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. One year later, the novella was published in several parts in Israel's German newspaper ''

Israel-Nachrichten ''Israel-Nachrichten'' (meaning "Israel news") was a German language daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv. The paper was founded in October 1935 by Siegfried Blumenthal, a Jewish merchant from Berlin. By 1950 it was one of the best selling newspa ...

''. The jury of the

Feldkircher Lyrikpreis {{Short description, Poetry award The ''Feldkirch Poetry Prize'', in German Feldkircher Lyrikpreis, was initiated by Erika Kronabitter, an Austrian artist and writer, and is awarded annually by the ''Theater am Saumarkt'' in Feldkirch, Vorarlberg/Au ...

2005 pointed out Ebner's precise language and his "consequent work on wording". In 2007, Ebner's poem, "a paperman and sick", became one of the Mentioned Poems at the International Poetry Prize Nosside.Refer to th
listing of results of the Nosside Award Jury 2007
The jury referred to the "metropolitan tristesse" in the poem which describes a "paperman" whose "meal consists of loneliness": In 2008, Ebner was awarded the Wiener Werkstattpreis for his short story "Der Flügel Last" ("The Wings' Burden"), which describes a seven-year-old girl who suffers from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

.The awarded texts have been published in the Prize Brochure: Schaden, P. (Ed.) (2008): "wordshop x", FZA Verlag. Another award-winning essay, "Was blieb vom Weißen Ritter?" ("What Remains of the White Knight?"), gives insight into the medieval novel ''

Tirant lo Blanch ''Tirant lo Blanch'' (; modern spelling: ''Tirant lo Blanc''), in English ''Tirant the White'', is a chivalric romance written by the Valencian knight Joanot Martorell, finished posthumously by his friend Martí Joan de Galba and published in ...

'' by

Joanot Martorell Joanot Martorell (; c. 1410 – 1465) was a Valencian knight and writer, best known for authoring the novel '' Tirant lo Blanch'', written in Catalan/Valencian and published at Valencia in 1490. This novel is often regarded as one of the peak ...

from

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. Ebner intermingled his own reading experience with philological and historical information to create "Was blieb vom Weißen Ritter?".

Awards and literary prizes

* 1982 Erster Österreichischer Jugendpreis (Youth Prize for Literature) for the novella ''Das Brandmal/The Stigma'' * 1984 Radio Play Award by the literary magazine Texte (3rd) * 1988 Erster Österreichischer Jugendpreis (Youth Prize for Literature) for the novel ''Nils'' * 2004 La Catalana de Lletres 2004, Mention and publication in the anthology,

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

* 2005

(4th) * 2007 Premio Internazionale di Poesia Nosside, Mention and publication in the anthology,

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

* 2007 Travel Subsidy by the Austrian Government * 2008 Two Subsidies for Literature by the Austrian GovernmentLiteraturhaus Wien, biography
retrieved on 2009-10-29. * 2008 Wiener Werkstattpreis 2007,

* 2009 Travel Subsidy by the Austrian Government * 2010 Second Prize of the Short Prose Award "Sprachräume – Schreibwelten" of the Austrian Writers' Association * 2014 Premi de Poesia Parc Taulí;Press Note by Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí
retrieved on 2016-08-01. Catalan Poetry Prize

Publications

English Translations

* ''Why (...I write)''; autobiographical essay, Books on Demand, Norderstedt (FRG),

German Books

* ''Wortspieler. Samuel Becketts Suche nach der verlorenen Sprache.''; essay, Books on Demand, Norderstedt (FRG), * ''Warum (...ich schreibe)''; autobiographical essay, Books on Demand, Norderstedt (FRG), * ''Ohne Gummi/Without rubber''; stories, Arovell Verlag, Gosau-Salzburg-Wien, * ''Dort und anderswo/There and elsewhere''; essays on travels and literature, Wels 2011, * ''Andorranische Impressionen''; essay, Wieser Verlag, Klagenfurt 2011, * ''wieso der Mückenschwarm dein Augenlicht umtanzt/why the midges dance around your eyes''; poetry, Edition Art Science, St. Wolfgang 2011, * ''Hominide/

Hominid The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); '' Gorilla'' (the ...

''; short novel, FZA Verlag, Vienna 2008, * ''Auf der Kippe/On the brink''; prose,

Arovell Verlag Arovell Verlag is an Austrian publishing house for contemporary literature. It has been founded in 1991 by the Austrian writer, artist and musician Paul Jaeg. Today, Jaeg is still the directing proprietor, while Thomas Gamsjäger is CEO. Each year ...

, Gosau 2008, * ''Lose/Destinies''; short stories, Edition Nove, Neckenmarkt 2007,

Catalan Books

* ''Forats''; poetry, Books on Demand, Madrid 2020, * ''Vestigis''; poetry, Books on Demand, Madrid 2019, * ''Blaus/Shades of Blue''; poetry, Pagès Editors, Barcelona 2015, * ''Vermells/Shades of Red''; poetry, SetzeVents (Catalan article), Urús 2009,

Other publications

*"Josep Pla"; essay about the Catalan writer

Josep Pla Josep Pla i Casadevall (; 8 March 1897 – 23 April 1981) was a Spanish journalist and a popular author. As a journalist he worked in France, Italy, Britain, Germany, and the Soviet Union, from where he wrote political and cultural chronicles i ...

. In: Zitig (online magazine), Vienna 2008 *"Was blieb vom Weißen Ritter?"; essay about the medieval novel ''

''. In: Wordshop X – Wiener Werkstattpreis 2007 (brochure), FZA Verlag, Vienna 2008 *"Die Stadt und das Meer"; essay about Barcelona. In: ''Reisenotizen'', FZA Verlag, Vienna 2007, *"Die Freiheit ist eine Funzel"; essay on freedom and liberty. In: Lichtungen nr. 109 (), Graz 2007 *"Von der Legende zur Modernität"; essay about Andorra. In: Literatur und Kritik nr. 411/412 (), Salzburg 2007 *"Die Kunst ist der Anfang"; essay on translation of literature. In: Literarisches Österreich nr. 1/07 (magazine, ZVR 295943463), Vienna 2007 *"Das Reizvolle der Prophezeiung"; essay on prophecies. In: Sterz nr. 99 (magazine, GZ 02Z033378M), Graz 2006 *"Das Gfrett mit der Reform"; essay about the new German orthography. In: Literarisches Österreich nr. 2/04 (magazine, ZVR 295943463), Vienna 2004

Notes

External links

Klaus Ebner's Official Website
(mainly in German and Catalan, but also containing some literary text examples translated to English) *
Article on Klaus Ebner in the Catalan newspaper AVUI

Biography, Austrian Writer's Association

Author page from publisher Schreiblust, Germany

Biography, Literaturhaus (House of Literature) Vienna

Interview by the Catalan E-Zine Diari Maresme
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebner, Klaus Austrian male writers Austrian translators Translators from Catalan German-language writers Catalan-language writers Writers from Vienna 1964 births Living people