Peter Rosei (born 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. ...

on 17 June 1946) 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 literary writer. Rosei attended 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 ...

, where he earned a doctorate in law in 1968. He worked for a time as the personal assistant to the Viennese painter Ernst Fuchs and then as the director of a publishing house for textbooks and nonfiction. Since 1972, he has been a freelance writer, publishing novels, stories, essays, poetry, plays, travelogues, and children's literature. He has traveled extensively and intensively throughout the world and has been a guest writer at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

, and the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

at Taos, as well as guest professor at the University of Nagoya, Japan. His literary breakthrough came with the novel ''Wer war Edgar Allan'' (Who was Edgar Allan) in 1977, which was filmed in 1984 by the Austrian director

Michael Haneke Michael Haneke (; born 23 March 1942) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, Ge ...

, with a screenplay by Rosei.Michael Haneke: A Cinema of Provocation"
DEFA Film Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Retrieved December 16, 2010. His fictional texts portray the limits of knowledge and the discrepancies between thought and action in Western society. Rosei's prolific output includes the novels ''Die Milchstraße'' (The Milky Way, 1981), ''Rebus'' (1990), and ''Persona'' (1995), as well as a six-part novel cycle titled ''Das 15 000-Seelen-Projekt'' (The 15,000 Souls Project) from 1984–1988. In 2005, he published a panoramic novel of Vienna during the postwar period, ''Wien Metropolis'' (Metropolis Vienna). Works that have been translated into English include ''Von hier nach dort'' (1978) (''From Here to There'', translated by Kathleen Thorpe, 1991), ''Das schnelle Glück'' (1980) (''Try Your Luck'', translated by Kathleen Thorpe, 1994), and ''Ruthless and Other Writings'' (translated by Geoffrey C. Howes, 2003), all published by Ariadne Press; and ''Wien Metropolis'' (2005) (''Metropolis Vienna'', translated by Geoffrey C. Howes, published by Green Integer in 2009).

Decorations and awards

* 1973:

Rauris Literature Prize The Rauris Literature Prize () is an annual Austrian literary award since 1972 by the Salzburg state government. The prize money is €10,000. It is awarded "for the best prose first publication by a German-speaking author from the previous year". ...

* 1980: Literature of the Cultural Fund of the City of Salzburg, * 1986: Elias Canetti scholarship of Vienna * 1987: Literature Prize of Salzburg * 1991: Austrian Prize for Literature * 1993: Franz Kafka Prize of the City of Klosterneuburg * 1996:

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National Co ...

* 1997: Literature Prize of Vienna * 1999:

Anton Wildgans Prize The Anton Wildgans Prize of Austrian Industry is a literary award that was endowed in 1962 by the Federation of Austrian Industry. The prize is worth 15,000 Euro and is granted by an independent jury to a young or middle-aged writer of Austrian ci ...

* 2006:

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National C ...

Decorations and awards

References

Further reading