Guest of the ilb 2003, 2005
Martin Walser was born in Wasserburg on Lake
Constance in 1927. He studied Literature, History and Philosophy in
Regensburg and Tübingen, where he wrote his doctorate on Franz Kafka in
1951. From 1949 to 1957 Walser worked as a reporter, director and radio
playwright for the Süddeutscher Rundfunk regional radio station. From
1953 onwards, he was a member of the Gruppe 47, winning the literary
group’s prize for one of his first short stories, »Templones Ende« (t:
Templone’s end), in 1955. He received the Hermann Hesse Prize for his
first novel: »Ehen in Philippsburg« (1957; Eng. »Marriage in
Philippsburg«). His work consists of prose, plays, film scripts, radio
plays and translations, as well as a great number of essays, speeches
and lectures. In 1978 »Ein fliehendes Pferd« (Eng. »Runaway Horse«,
1980) was published – a classic of German postwar literature. It tells
the story of the teacher Halm, a typical Walser anti-hero, who spends
his holidays with his wife in a quiet corner of Lake Constance because
he believes he can only survive in a state of lethargy. Walser
describes himself as a »literary expert on identity damage«. His mainly
bourgeois protagonists – characters plagued by identity problems,
feelings of inferiority and dependency – are characterised by interior
monologues, their weaknesses portrayed through irony, with precision
and humour. The protagonists in Walser’s novels can often be traced
through consecutive tales, as for example the character of Anselm
Kristlein in the trilogy »Halbzeit« (1960; t: Half-Time), »Das Einhorn«
(1966; Eng. »The Unicorn«, 1971) and »Der Sturz« (1973; t: The Fall).
In 2004 »Der Augenblick der Liebe« (t: The Moment of Love) appeared,
the third novel with protagonist Gottlieb Zürn after »Das Schwanenhaus«
(1980; Eng. »The Swan Villa«, 1982) and »Die Jagd« (1988; t: The Hunt).
Also in 2004, the collection of essays »Die Verwaltung des Nichts«
(2004; t: The Administration of Nothingness) was published.
After the publication of »Ein springender Brunnen« (1998; t: A
Springing Fountain), in which the author recounts his youth in
Wasserburg during the Third Reich, Walser was awarded the Peace Prize
of the German Booksellers. »The author of German unification«, as the
jury said, had »explained Germany to the Germans themselves and to the
world«. His acceptance speech, in which he criticised »the
instrumentalisation of Auschwitz« as a »moralising cudgel«, caused him
to be accused of advocating to rule off the National Socialist history
of Germany. The intensity of the resulting »Walser Bubis debate«, as
well as reactions to his novel »Tod eines Kritikers« (2002; t: Death of
a Critic), mark out the arbitrary and indistinct intellectual and moral
nature of the discussion of Germany’s past. Walser's diaries from the
years 1951 to 1962 were published entitled »Leben und Schreiben« (t:
Living and Writing) in 2005.
Walser, who has always expressed controversial opinions on subjects
of current political interest alongside his literary activities, is one
of the most significant authors of German postwar literature, and he
has received countless prizes for his literary work, among them the
Georg Büchner Prize in 1981. He has also been awarded the order »Pour
le Mérite« and named Officier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
Walser lives in Überlingen, on Lake Constance.
© international literature festival berlin
Martin Walser online: www.martinwalser.de | 
