Klaus Ebner

Klaus Ebner (August 8, 1964 in Vienna) is an Austrian writer, essayist, poet, and translator. Having published articles and books on software topics since 1989, Ebner contributed to early literary fiction in magazines in the 1980s. His first collection of short stories was printed in 2007. Ebner writes poetry in German and in Catalan; he also translates French and Catalan literature into German. He is a member of several Austrian writers' associations, including the Grazer Autorenversammlung.

Life

Klaus Ebner was born on August 8, 1964 in Vienna, Austria. His mother, Ingeborg (b. 1944), worked as a hairdresser and his father, Walter (1939-1996), was a salesman who sold home entertainment products in the 1970s and later. Ebner grew up in a bourgeois middle-class family in Vienna's third district.Biographical note on [http://www.klausebner.eu/pages/biografie/autobiografie-dt..php the author's official website] .] His sister was born in 1969. One year later, the family moved to Vienna's twentieth, and slightly more working-class oriented, district. For eight years he attended high school in the neighboring second district in Vienna. His first writing experiences date back to this time; at the age of twelve he wrote a short theater play and rehearsed it with his comrades at school - however, the play was never performed.

In 1982, after a one month university trip to Tours, France, Ebner began studying Romance languages, German philology and translation at the University of Vienna. At this time he was already working for a literary circle and Viennese literature magazine. [ [http://aleph.onb.ac.at/F/82X8RDNQT9A8A4PHJP11T8T4FGB5VTPYC51FRS3HKJR6SCX7M2-01568?func=full-set-set&set_number=057756&set_entry=000008&format=999 Austrian National Library; entries about the magazine "Texte"] , Vienna 1983-1986.] Eventually he concentrated on various professional careers, such as translation, [Ebner, K. and Lorenz, D. (2004): "DNS-Implementierung im Windows-Netzwerk/Implementing DNS on Windows Networks"; page 427, Microsoft Press.] foreign language teaching and IT projects. [Idem and Credle, R., Ebner, K., Greco, J., and Re Ferrè, M. (1999): "Migrating IBM Netfinity Servers to Microsoft Windows 2000", page X, ITSO Redbook.] In the 1990s, Ebner published articles and books on software and networking topics; while these books were written in German, [The German books were published by Data Becker, Markt & Technik, IWT, TEWI and Microsoft Press between 1989 and 2004.] he also wrote some articles in English. [NT Update, issues 9, 10, 14ff., xephon, London 1999-2002.] In 1999, he spent six weeks in North Carolina and was the co-author of a book in English about PC servers; [Credle, R., Ebner, K., Greco, J., and Re Ferrè, M. (1999): "Migrating IBM Netfinity Servers to Microsoft Windows 2000", page X, ITSO Redbook.]

In 2001, while studying European economy at a Viennese university of applied sciences, he authored a paper about islamism in Europe, which was published eventually in Germany. [Ebner, K. (2001/2007): "Islamischer Fundamentalismus in der EU/Islamic Fundamentalism in the EU", GRIN Verlag, ISBN 978-3638696982.] The author's interest in Arabic and Muslim civilizations is reflected in several stories, such as in "Momentaufnahme (Snapshot)" and "Flug sechs-zwo-zwo (Flight six-two-two)" [Ebner, K. (2007): "Lose", page 133f., Edition Nove.] , "orgiastisch (orgiastic)" [Ebner, K. (2008): "Auf der Kippe", page 79f., Arovell Verlag.] and others.

Ebner has three children. He still lives and works in Vienna and is a member of the Austrian Writers' Associations "Grazer Autorenversammlung (GAV)" [GAV members' list, [http://www.gav.at/member.html?menu=3&sel=2&mid=694&sub= entry about Klaus Ebner] .] and "Österreichischer Schriftstellerverband (ÖSV)".

Work

Since graduation from school, Ebner has written short prose, poetry and radio plays. He typically published his work in literary and cultural magazines such as "Sterz", one of the largest literary magazine from Styria, Austria, and in "Lesezirkel", which was owned by the Viennese daily newspaper Wiener Zeitung. He is highly interested in Catalan language and culture; the topic of his university graduation paper from 1989, written in French, is titled "The image of the Catalan Countries in French literature from Romanticism till today". Excerpts of a "Catalan Diary" were published in 1987 [Erste Österreichische Spar-Casse (Ed.), (1987): "Der Erste Österreichische Jugendpreis: Literaturjahr 1987".] , and in numerous essays he discusses Catalan culture.

Due to having to find other work after the birth of his first son in 1987, Ebner's literary activities slowed drastically. During the 1990s he published few works but instead began to work on his novel "Feuers Geraun". Two chapters were published in early versions by the Upper Austrian magazine "die Rampe" in 1994 ("Der Schreiber von Aram") and 1997 ("Das Gesetz"). [die Rampe 2/94 (1994) and 2/97 (1997).] The story deals with Jewish and biblical traditions.

Ebner began publishing more frequently after 2004. [Anthology publication list on the author's official home page [http://www.klausebner.eu/ www.klausebner.eu] , which indicates the respective publishing year.] He has written narrative fiction (novel, short story, short prose), essays and poems. His poetry is written in German and Catalan. Supported by a subsidy for literature from the Austrian government, he went to Andorra in 2007 and wrote an essay about the country in the Pyrenees. [Ebner, K. (2008): "Auf der Kippe", page 139, Arovell Verlag.] He also translated the novel "L'Absent" written by the Catalan author Josep Navarro Santaeulàlia, into German. Ebner's cultural essays about Catalan culture, e.g. about Barcelona and Andorra, have been published by the magazine "Literatur und Kritik".

His first collection of short stories was published in 2007. "Lose (Destinies)" contains 45 stories; almost twenty of them had already been printed by newspapers, literary magazines or anthologies. In 2008, Ebner published his book "Auf der Kippe (On the brink)".

Style of writing

Especially the short stories cover a multitude of topics, which, as critic Julia Rafael states, treat actual and socially relevant problems. She describes the stories of "Lose" as "somewhat imploding stories" and says that "phantasms, irony and humour have their place, too".Rafael, J.: "Critic review" of the book "Lose", in: Literarisches Österreich nr. 1 (2008), page 27.] Moreover, Ebner's metaphors "pass beyond reality without losing ground". Multiculturalism plays an eminent role, shown quite clearly by the second book, a collection of short prose, "Auf der Kippe (On the Brink)". [E.g. "dämonisch/demoniac" describes the encounter of two men personalizing islamism and evangelicalism, "hanebüchen/preposterous" questions fatalism, "grotesk/grotesque" and "xenophil/xenophile" attack xenophobism.] On May 4, 1986, he wrote in his journal: "Running became a torture. I wasn't allowed to stop, I had to move on steadily to ensure the course of events". ["Das Laufen wurde zur Qual. Stehenbleiben durfte ich nicht, ich mußte laufen, um den Ablauf des Geschehens zu gewährleisten." In: Ebner, K. (1986): "Lyrisches", page 31, Editions Valain.] This theme reoccurs in "Fortlauf (Continuation)", which tells a similar story. [Ebner, K. (2007): "Lose", page 75f., Edition Nove.]

His writing style is characterized by a very careful and acerbic wording. Each sentence has a melody; his short prose especially sounds lyrical. The journalist Paul C. Jezek compares Ebner's sentences to "Japanese paintings - every word has been chosen with special care". ["Seine Zeilen sind wie japanische Malerei: Jedes Wort ist sorgfältig gewählt." Club 1 Magazin nr. 54 (1988), page 11.]

Awards and accomplishments

In 1982, Ebner was awarded the Youth Prize for Literature (Großer Österreichischer Jugendpreis) for the novella "Das Brandmal (The stigma)", which had attracted the attention of Austrian critic and jury member Hans Weigel. Weigel compared Ebner to Austria's 19th century novella writer Ferdinand von Saar. [Article "Ab nach Frankreich" in: Club 1 Magazin nr. 1/83 (1983), page 10f.] The novella tells the story of a young community servant who through his service gets acquainted with a seemingly bewildered pensioner. Eventually he learns that the old man is a Viennese Jew whose bewilderment is a direct consequence of his experiences during the Third Reich. For the first time in his life, the young community servant learns about Austria's role during World War II and about the concentration camps, about which the old man begins to talk. One year later, the novella was published in several parts in Israel's German newspaper "Israel Nachrichten". [Ebner, K. (1983): "Das Brandmal", in: Israel Nachrichten, April issues.]

In 2007, Ebner's poem "a peperman and sick" became one of the "mentioned poems" at the International Poetry Prize Nosside. The jury referred to the "metropolitan tristesse" in the poem which describes a "paperman" whose "meal consists of loneliness". [Amoroso, G. (2007): "L'immaginario dei poeti del Nosside 2007 e il loro potere di esprimere il mondo", page 41 (Italian), page 49f. (Spanish), p. 56 (Portuguese), ISBN 978-8873511847.] The verse depicts a homeless person, someone who lives in public parks and owns some paper stuff packed onto an old supermarket caddy: [Ebner, K. (2007): "a paperman and sick", in: Amato, P. and Salfrán, M. J. (2007): "Nosside 2007", page 113, Città del Sole Edizioni.]

In 2008, Ebner was awarded the Wiener Werkstattpreis. The winning short story, "Der Flügel Last (The Wings' Burden)", describes a seven year old girl who suffers from cancer. The narrative style evokes the child's perspective. The winning essay "Was blieb vom Weißen Ritter? (What Remains of the White Knight?)" gives some insight into the medieval novel "Tirant lo Blanch" by Joanot Martorell from Valencia. The author intermingled his own reading experience with philological and historical information. [Both texts have been published in the Prize Brochure: Schaden, P. (Ed.) (2008): "wordshop x", FZA Verlag.]

Awards and literary prizes

* 2008 Subsidy for Literature by the Austrian Government
* 2007 Wiener Werkstattpreis 2007, Vienna
* 2007 Travel Subsidy by the Austrian Government
* 2007 "Menzione" at the Premio Internazionale di Poesia Nosside, Reggio Calabria
* 2005 Feldkircher Lyrikpreis (4th)
* 2004 La Catalana de Lletres 2004 Mention and publication in the anthology, (Barcelona)
* 1988 Erster Österreichischer Jugendpreis for the novel "Nils"
* 1984 Radio Play Award by the literary magazine Texte (3rd)
* 1982 Erster Österreichischer Jugendpreis for the novella "Das Brandmal/The Stigma"

Books

* "Auf der Kippe/On the brink"; prose (in German), Arovell Verlag, Gosau 2008, ISBN 978-3902547675
* "Lose/Destinies"; short stories (in German), Edition Nove, Neckenmarkt 2007, ISBN 978-3852511979

Contributions to anthologies (examples)

* "Träume/Dreams"; short prose (in German), in: Junge Literatur aus Österreich 85/86, Österreichischer Bundesverlag, Vienna 1986, ISBN 3-215-06096-5
* "Heimfahrt/Coming Home"; short story (in German), in: Ohnmacht Kind, Boesskraut & Bernardi, Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-7004-0660-6
* "Island/Iceland"; poem (in German), in: Vom Wort zum Buch, Edition Doppelpunkt, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-85273-056-2
* "Abflug/Departure"; short story (in German), in: Gedanken-Brücken, Edition Doppelpunkt, Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-85273-102-X
* "El perquè de tot plegat/The Reason of All This"; poem (in Catalan), in: La Catalana de Lletres 2004, Cossetània Edicions, Barcelona 2005, ISBN 84-9791-098-2
* "Das Begräbnis/The Funeral"; short story (in German), in: Kaleidoskop, Edition Atelier, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-902498-01-3
* "Weinprobe/Wine degustation"; short story (in German), in: Das Mädchen aus dem Wald, Lerato-Verlag, Oschersleben (FRG) 2006, ISBN 3-938882-14-X
* "Routiniert/Routined"; short story (in German), in: Sexlibris, Schreiblust Verlag, Dortmund (FRG) 2007, ISBN 978-3-9808-2781-2
* "Die Stadt und das Meer/The City and the Sea"; essay (in German), in: Reisenotizen, FAZ Verlag, Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3950229943

Notes

External links

* [http://www.klausebner.eu/ Author's Information Website (mainly in German and Catalan, but also containing some literary text examples translated to English)]
*PND|134037898
* [http://www.gav.at/member.html?menu=3&sel=2&mid=694&sub= Biography, Austrian Writer's Association] Grazer Autorenversammlung
* [http://www.schreib-lust.de/verlag/autoren/klaus_ebner.php Author page from publisher Schreiblust, Germany]