Martin Walser, the playwright and storyteller, has passed away at the age of 96. He was regarded as one of the most significant authors of German post-war literature.
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| Martin Walser |
Martin Walser, one of the most popular German author, passed away at the age of 96. Rowohlt Verlag made this announcement in the evening. In their earlier reports, the SWR and the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" cited the family's surroundings.
Walser leaves behind a sizable corpus of work that is also contentious. He continued to write until he was very old, producing novels, short stories, collections of short stories, plays, radio plays, translations, essays, speeches, and lectures. He released the "Traumbuch" and the collection of poetry "Language Leave" when he was 95 years old.
He was frequently referred to as the "author of the century" and was known for his unflinching analysis of West German culture. He was also known for leaving his fictional characters in his works always in a precarious state of struggle. He has released almost 70 short stories and books since 1955.
He was the son of innkeepers and coal traders and was born in Wasserburg on Lake Constance in 1927. His older brother passed away in World War II, and he lost his father at early age. For a brief period of time, he served as a soldier and an anti-aircraft helper.
When Walser was twelve years old, he started composing poems. After completing his studies in Regensburg and Tübingen, he worked for Süddeutscher Rundfunk for several years as a reporter, editor, and creator of radio plays.
He became one of the most significant and divisive writers in German post-war literature very rapidly. He won the Group 47 prize for the short tale "Templone's End" in the collection of short stories "A Plane Over the House" that was released in 1955.
His debut book, "Ehen in Philipsburg," gave him his big break in 1957. He received the Hermann Hesse Award.
Walser has four daughters with his wife Käthe, whom he has been married to since 1950. He is also Jakob Augstein's biological father, a fact that only came to light in 2009.
Walser, like many of his coworkers, was politically engaged in the 1960s, supporting opposition to the Vietnam War and Willy Brandt's chancellorship.
He was viewed as a socialist because of his dedication, so when he spoke against the "instrumentalization of Auschwitz" in 1998 during his acceptance speech for the German Book Trade's Peace Prize, the outcry was understandably intense. At the time, he declared, "Auschwitz is not suitable for becoming a regular threat, a ready-to-use intimidation tool, or a moral cudgel."
Walser donated his legacy to the Marbach German Literature Archive a year ago. He participated in political discussions all the way through, such as the one on arming Ukraine.
The spring before last, a collection of poetry titled "Greetings from Fish and Birds" was released. The master of literature often acknowledged that becoming older is tough. But you naturally fight the idea that it's over, he continued. "For us, death does not exist. We are all going to die.
Walser was lauded by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for being a wonderful guy and a talented writer. "His work spanned more than six decades, and he had a decisive influence on German literature during this time," Steinmeier said in a letter of sympathy to the author's widow that was released that evening.
Who else would spring to mind in German post-war writing if you were to mention an example of historically aware, devoted poetry than Martin Walser? The Federal President said. Many people's eyes have been opened by Walser's books and writings, "especially about the country in which they live and about the time in which they live," he writes. Steinmeier underlined that his work, which has won several awards, is an amazing representation of Germany and "remains part of his literary heritage." "Martin Walser is mourned by everybody. We will not forget him."
Sources: DW/DPA/Tagesschau