Guest of the ilb 2002
Zoran Drvenkar
is one of the most distinguished German speaking authors of literature
for children and young people. He was born in Krizevci, Croatia, in
1967 and moved with his parents in 1970 to Berlin; today he lives in a
small city in Brandenburg. Since 1989 he has worked as a freelance
writer and has received many prizes and grants for his novels, poems,
theatre pieces and short stories, including in 1999, the 'Science
Fiction Prize' of the 'Literature Workshop Berlin' for his story 'Die
alte Stadt' and in 2000, the 'Munich Youth Dramatist Prize'. In
1998 Zoran Drvenkar impressed critics with his debut novel
'Niemand so stark wie wir', which was awarded the 'Oldenburg
Children’s and Young People’s Book Prize 1999'. In 2000, 'Im
Regen stehen' followed. In the streets of West Berlin in the
Seventies, Zoran and his friends discover, in their little
neighbourhood their passion for football, television and the fights
between the gangs, quarrels with their parents and first love.
Also, in 'Touch the flame'(2001), the author presents himself as a
genuine narrator. Similar to a road movie, this young people’s
novel is about a difficult father-son relationship. Drvenkar
describes the exciting days in the life of 15-year-old Lukas, between
Berlin and Hamburg filled with encounters, talking, adventures,
disappointments and hopes. In a tour de force, the young
protagonist meets his long lost father Ritchie, his criminal uncle,
gets to know his half brother and meets his fascinating cousin.
In his current young people’s novel 'Cengiz & Locke'(2002),
Drvenkar shows himself as the 'young wild one' of German speaking youth
literature. With great linguistic authenticity and a terrific
narrative speed, the author captures the life feeling of his young
heroes. It is about the big city, rival gangs and friendship
between boys which rank between comradeship, loyalty, fear of too much
vulnerability, mutual feelings of responsibility and casual
facades. Cengiz, the 16-year-old Turk who looks like a Mongol and
Locke, a 14-year-old German who is actually called Matthias end up, on
one weekend, in a spiral of violence from which there seems no escape.
“Cengiz & Locke” (2002) was singled out for praise with the Luchs
des Jahres 2000.
In 2002, Drvenkar published 'Der einzige Vogel,
der die Kälte nicht fürchtet' (Engl: The one bird who wasn’t afraid of
the cold). Here Drvenkar tells the story, dry and full of pithy,
of a crisp, cold winter. After an eternity of bitter coldness has ruled
on earth, young boy Ricki makes his way to having a serious word with
winter and here meets a comical bird who looks suspiciously like a
penguin and professes to being the only bird who isn’t afraid of the
cold. And so, an original, eccentric fairytale develops full of
deeper meaning with which Drvenker tells his young readers more than
simply a poetic story. His cheeky penguin is actually a tragic
figure: he can’t fly but wishes nothing more than to be a real
bird. Drvenkars success as a writer for a young audience
continues with other books, amongst them the novel 'Sag mir, was du
siehst' (2002, Engl: Tell me what you see) and the children's book 'Du
schon wieder' (2003 Engl: You again). In 2005, Drvenkar received the
'German Young People’s Literature Prize' for his book 'Die
Kurzhosengang' (2004), published under the nom de plume Victor Caspak
& Yves Lanois. The book is an original and humorous children’s
novel about a teenaged gang. On TV Rudolph, Snickers, Island and Zement
report about their unbelievable adventures, which they heriocally
master together, and for which they thank their name, “Die
Kurzhosengang” (Engl: The Short-Trouser-Gang). In the sequel, “Die
Rückkehr der Kurzhosengang” (2006, Engl: The return of the
Short-Trouser-Gang), which was published under Drvenkar’s name, the
turbulent adventures of the gang continue. Drvenkar once more proves
his versatility as an author with his poetry collection “Was geht wenn
du bleibst” (2005, Engl: What disappears when you stay). The subject of
his poetry is the diversity of human feelings when growing up. The
collection was nominated for the 2006 Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis by
the young people’s jury. For his female public Drvenkar wrote the book
“Paula und die Leichtigkeit des Seins” (2007, Engl: Paula and the ease
of being) , which tells of the life of an eight year-old who suffers
from being fat. And the adventures that Zarah and her four friends have
in the woods on the hunt for the robber-leader Raddek are the subject
of his most recently pulished story, “Zarah – du hast doch keine Angst,
oder?” (2007, Engl: Zarah – you’re not afraid, are you?”)
Drvenkar is also successful as an author of film
and theatre. With the play “Traumpaar” (2006, Engl: Dream Couple) he
addresses himself to a theatrical production about the themes of family
and friendship. Ricki should move with his sister to his father’s in a
new city after the break-up of his parents, and split from all his
friends in Berlin. From the collaboration with Gregor Tessnow the film
“Knallhart” (Engl: Two-fisted) was adapted from the novel of the same
name, directed in 2006 by Detlev Buck. In the same year it received the
Deutscher Filmpreis in Silber for the best feature film.
© international literature festival berlin
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