Ingeborg Bachmann
(Born 25.06.1926 in Klagenfurt, died 17.10.1973 in Rome), author
Ingeborg Bachmann is one of the most important German-language authors of the 20th century. She published her first story "Die Fähre” (i.e. the ferry) at the outset of her studies in philosophy, German literature and psychology. In 1952 her first radio play "Ein Geschäft mit Träumen" (i.e. a business with dreams) was broadcast, one year later she received an award from the "Gruppe 47" for her poetry collection "Die gestundete Zeit" (i.e. the day of reckoning). 1956 followed her second volume of poetry "Anrufung des Großen Bären" (i.e. invocation of the Great Bear). In addition, Ingeborg Bachman published numerous poems, stories, audio plays, libretti and essays. Of the trilogy of novels, "Todesarten” (i.e. types of death) that she began in the 1960s, only the first part, "Malina", appeared in 1971. Among other awards Ingeborg Bachmann was distinguished with the Georg Büchner Prize (1964) and the Grand Austrian State Prize for Literature (1968). Since 1977, the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize, considered one of the most important literature prizes in the German-speaking world, has been awarded annually at the Klagenfurt Literature Competition.