Tijan Sila impresses on the first day of the Bachmann competition
Published: Thursday, Jun 27th 2024, 16:30
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Fourteen texts are in the running for one of the most prestigious German-language literary prizes. Themes from the personal sphere dominated the opening round. There is already a provisional favorite.
On the first day of this year's Ingeborg Bachmann Competition, Sarajevo-born author Tijan Sila proved to be the strongest candidate so far. With his text "The day my mother went mad", he received loud applause from the audience in Klagenfurt, Austria, on Thursday. The jury was impressed by Sila's tragicomic language, with which he writes about war trauma and madness.
Bernese woman opens the reading competition
The competition was opened by Sarah Elena Müller from Bern. She was the first of the 14 authors in the competition to present her story "Wen ich hier seinetwegen vor mir selbst rette". The jury almost unanimously praised Müller's surrealistic text, in which a narrator desperately struggles with her roommate's drug addiction and her own dependence on him.
German author Christine Koschmieder also made a strong impression with her emancipatory post-war story "Nylfrance".
Austrian author and cabaret artist Ulrike Haidacher received some harsh criticism for her novel "Schwestern" (Sisters) at the 48th Days of German-Language Literature. While the audience seemed moved by the story about the nursing profession, generational conflicts and the hardships of dying, the jury criticized Haidacher's simple narrative style. "Others have done it more originally," said juror Thomas Strässle.
Zürcher only partially convincing
The Zurich poet and musician Roland Jurczok was also unable to fully convince the jury with his text "Das Katangakreuz". Jurczok's memories of a deceased, reclusive father and a mother forced into the role of housewife "would need another 50 or 80 pages" to unfold, said jury chairman Klaus Kastberger.
The 14 German-language texts in the competition will be presented and critiqued in front of an audience, jury and TV cameras until Saturday. On Sunday, the winner of the main prize of 25,000 euros will be announced. Last year, Valeria Gordeev from Tübingen won the award, which is named after the Austrian writer Ingeborg Bachmann (1926-73).
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