Literary Prize - Bühner-Prize for Author Egger - "Message as Happiness Feeling"
The matter of poetry and literature is an unending endeavor for Oswald Egger. This year, the 61-year-old author will be awarded the renowned Georg-Büchner-Prize. The German Academy for Language and Poetry is honoring a writer who, since his first publication in 1993, has exceeded the boundaries of literary production and expanded it, as stated by the Academy in Darmstadt in justification of the jury's decision.
The 50,000 Euro-prize will be presented on November 2nd at the Staatstheater Darmstadt. It is one of the most significant literary awards in the German-speaking region.
Surprised by the award
"My ideas come from my head, which I carry with me 24 hours a day, I think," Egger said to the German Press Agency after the announcement of the prize winner. "And then there's something outside, when something stirs in consciousness." So he perceives, recognizes, and explains the world. The Georg-Büchner-Prize surprised the married father of two children. He hadn't expected it. It was only a few days ago that he was informed. "The initial impact, which the news hit me like a feeling of happiness, has not completely worn off yet."
Reasons of the jury
"He works on a continuous body of work that conceives language as movement, as sound, as texture, as image, as performance, and develops in the continuity and change of language use," the jury stated in justification. His prose poems and textiles resist easy reading, "invite associative decision-making of meanings, and subtly undermine explanatory systems that we believe we know." Egger's word cosmos is rooted in multilingualism "and the landscapes of his South Tyrolean origin." The already multiple award-winning author was born in Meran, studied literature and philosophy in Vienna, and currently lives, according to his own statements, on the Raketenstation Hombroich near Neuss, a museum complex.
Numerous publications
"I would say, starting from my youthful years, there was already this strong affinity," Egger said about his intention to write. "These are mountains and valleys that need to be overcome." A longer pause occurred during his studies. Only then did he publish his first book, "The Earth of Speech," in 1993. "In 2010, he published the almost 800-page-long book 'The Whole Time' with prose texts, four-liners, and drawings about the phenomenon of time," the Academy shared. Last year, the book "Farbkompartimente" was published.
Egger among great poets
"The German Academy for Language and Poetry honors yet another author in the line of Georg-Büchner-Prize laureates whose core is poetry, the poem that is pressed to the edge," the head of the Frankfurt Literature House, Hauke Hückstedt, stated. He stands among these honorees, looking only at the prize winners of the past ten years, in a series with the great poets Jürgen Becker, Marcel Beyer, Jan Wagner, Elke Erb, and Lutz Seiler.
History of the award
Since 1951, the Academy has awarded the prize to writers who write in the German language and stand out in a particular way through their works and contributions to contemporary German cultural life, according to the statute. The prize is financed by the Federal Government, the State of Hesse, and the City of Darmstadt.
Sounding Names among the Sponsors
Among the previous sponsors are Max Frisch (1958), Günter Grass (1965), and Heinrich Böll (1967), as well as most recently Terézia Mora, Lukas Bärfuss, Elke Erb, and Clemens J. Setz. The namesake is the dramatist and revolutionary Georg Büchner ("Woyzeck"). He was born in 1813 in the Grand Duchy of Hesse and died in Zurich in 1837.
- The feeling of happiness that accompanied the unexpected news of winning the Georg-Büchner-Prize has not completely worn off for Oswald Egger yet.
- The Georg-Büchner-Prize, one of the most significant literary awards in the German-speaking region, is awarded annually by the German Academy for Language and Poetry.
- In justifying their decision, the jury acknowledged Egger's continuous body of work, which conceives language as movement and develops in the continuity and change of language use.
- Born in Meran, Egger studied literature and philosophy in Vienna and currently resides at the Raketenstation Hombroich near Neuss, a museum complex.
- This year's recipient of the Georg-Büchner-Prize, worth 50,000 Euros, is a German writer who has published numerous works, including "The Earth of Speech," "The Whole Time," and "Farbkompartimente."
- The German Press Agency reported that Egger, while surprised by the award, attributed his ideas to his constant thinking and recognition of the world, acknowledging the outside factor that stirs consciousness.
