literature
Austrian writer Gerhard Roth dead
The Austrian writer Gerhard Roth has died. Photo: Herbert Neubauer/APA/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
For Austria’s Federal President, the writer Gerhard Roth was a “courageous and clever voice”. The much-honoured author with a clear political stance has now died in his home country.
The Austrian writer Gerhard Roth is
died in his hometown of Graz at the age of 79.
This was confirmed by the Prime Minister of Styria, Hermann Schützenhöfer, on Tuesday evening. Roth was considered to be one of the great, always political storytellers and writers in Austria.
The author became famous above all for his seven-part cycle “The Archives of Silence”, on which he worked between 1978 and 1991. The following «Orkus cycle» also received great recognition. Most recently he wrote the Venice novel “There is no evil angel than love”. The multiple award-winning writer was honored with the Austrian State Prize in 2016.
Van der Bellen pays tribute to Roth
Austria’s Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen praised the deceased writer as a “brave and clever voice”. “Clearly and consistently he dealt with Austrian history, with the bright, often dark sides of our country.”
Following the will of his father, who was a doctor, Roth initially studied medicine but dropped out. 1966 to 1977 worked
he worked as a programmer and head of organization at the Grazer
Computer data center in addition to his literary work
to earn his living. From the early 1970s
he published experimental prose (about 1972 «die
autobiography of albert einstein») and also tried his hand as
Playwright (“Lichtenberg”, “Longing”, “Twilight”).
A generous advance from a publisher made it possible
Roth to concentrate entirely on the work on the “Archives of Silence”. In 1980 “The Quiet Ocean” was released here, the film version of which was awarded the Silver Bear at the Berlinale in 1983. The 800-page book “Common Death” published in 1984 is the center of the cycle, composed of a wide variety of literary genres, in which fiction and (also photographic) documentation flow together.
Excitement about “The Lake” in the 90s
With «Der See», the opening novel of his «Orkus» cycle, he took care of it
Roth 1995 for excitement in the ranks of the FPÖ, in a
populist politician who is nearly assassinated
recognized her then party leader Jörg Haider.
Roth is known for his literary work as well as for his in
Reports, essays and interviews taken clear political
attitude has been honored. In 1994 he received the Tolerance Prize of the Austrian book trade. Numerous other awards followed, such as the Jean Paul Prize in 2015, which is endowed with 15,000 euros.