Rainald Maria Goetz (born 24 May 1954, in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

) is a German author, playwright and essayist.

Biography

After studying History and Medicine in Munich and earning a degree (PhD and M.D) in each, he soon concentrated on his writing. His first published works, especially his novel ''Irre'' ("Insane"), published in 1983, made him a cult author of the intellectual left. To the delight of his fans and the dismay of some critics, he mixed neo-expressionist writing with social realism in the vein of

Alfred Döblin Bruno Alfred Döblin (; 10 August 1878 – 26 June 1957) was a German novelist, essayist, and doctor, best known for his novel ''Berlin Alexanderplatz'' (1929). A prolific writer whose œuvre spans more than half a century and a wide variety of ...

and the fast pace of British pop writers such as

Julie Burchill Julie Burchill (born 3 July 1959) is an English writer. Beginning as a staff writer at the ''New Musical Express'' at the age of 17, she has since contributed to newspapers such as ''The Daily Telegraph'', ''The Sunday Times'' and ''The Guardia ...

. During a televised literary event in 1983, Goetz slit his own forehead with a razor blade and let the blood run down his face until he finished reading. Goetz has the reputation of an enthusiastic observer of media and pop culture. He has embraced avant-garde philosophers such as Foucault and Luhmann as well as the DJs of the techno movement, especially

Sven Väth Sven Väth (born 26 October 1964) is a German DJ and electronic music producer. He is a three-time DJ Awards winner, and his career in electronic music spans over 30 years. The single " Electrica Salsa" with OFF launched his career in 1986. Ref ...

. He kept a

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

in 1998–99 called ''Abfall für alle'' ("rubbish for everybody"), which was later published as a book. Goetz has won numerous literary awards.

Awards and honors

*1983

Kranichsteiner Literaturpreis Kranichsteiner Literaturpreis is a literary prize of Germany. The Deutsche Literaturfonds (German Literature Fund) based in Darmstadt has been awarding the prize since 1983. The prize money was raised in 2019 from €20,000 to €30,000. In addit ...

*1988

Mülheimer Dramatikerpreis Mülheimer Dramatikerpreis ("dramatist award of Mülheim"), founded in 1976, is one of the leading theater awards in Germany. It is awarded by an open jury of theater professionals, critics and playwrights who watch a short list of productions du ...

*1991 Heinrich-Böll-Preis *1993

*1999 Else Lasker-Schüler Dramatist Prize *2000 Wilhelm Raabe Literature Prize *2000

*2012 Berliner Literaturpreis *2013 Schiller-Gedächtnispreis *2013 Marieluise-Fleißer-Preis *2015

Georg Büchner Prize The Georg Büchner Prize (german: link=no, Georg-Büchner-Preis) is the most important literary prize for German language literature, along with the Goethe Prize. The award is named after dramatist and writer Georg Büchner, author of ''Woyzeck ...

*2018

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

Selected works

* ''Irre'' (1983), the novel which made him famous. English translation titled ''Insane''. * ''Krieg'' ("War") (1986). Three plays. * ''Kontrolliert'' ("Controlled") (1988). * ''Festung'' (1993). Plays. * ''1989'' (1993), a collage of media from the years of the

German Reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

, 1989–90. * ''Rave'' (1998). * ''Jeff Koons'' (1998). * ''Abfall für alle'' ("Rubbish for everyone") (1999). * ''Klage'' ("Complaint") (2008). * ''Johann Holtrop'' (2012).

References

External links

Rainald Goetz: New German dramatic art
(website of the

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange an ...

)
To Live and to Write: The Existence Mission of Writing
" ''Hyperion: On the Future of Aesthetics,'' Vol VII, No 1, 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Goetz, Rainald 1954 births Living people German male writers Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Georg Büchner Prize winners