Wikipedia

Friedrich Christian Delius

Friedrich Christian Delius (13 February 1943 – 30 May 2022), also known by his pen name F.C. Delius,[1] was a German novelist. He wrote books about historic events, such as the 1954 FIFA World Cup, and RAF terrorism. Four of his novels were translated into English, including The Pears of Ribbeck and Portrait of the Mother as a Young Woman. His awards include the Georg Büchner Prize of 2011.

F.C. Delius
Delius in 2012
Delius in 2012
BornFriedrich Christian Delius
(1943-02-13)13 February 1943
Rome, Italy
Died30 May 2022(2022-05-30) (aged 79)
Berlin, Germany
OccupationNovelist
Education
GenreNovel
Years active1966–2022
Notable awards
Signature
Website
fcdelius.de

Biography

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Delius was born in Rome, where his father was pastor of the German Protestant Church.[2] He grew up in Wehrda (since 1971 among the constituent communities of Haunetal) and Korbach in the state of Hesse.[3][4] He studied German literature at the Free University of Berlin and at Technische Universität Berlin, and in London.[1][5] He published poetry beginning at age 18, and appeared at the last meetings of the Gruppe 47 at age 21, as the second-youngest participant.[1][6]

He first worked in publishing firms such as Klaus Wagenbach and Rotbuch [de].[7][8] The Siemens group went to court against the 1972 documentary satire Unsere Siemens-Welt.[1]

From 1978, Delius worked as a freelance writer.[9] He published more than a dozen novels and a number of poetry collections. His novels and stories deal with the history of the 20th century.[1] His work has been translated into more than 20 languages.[7]

He was awarded numerous German literary prizes, including the Fontane Prize of the City of Neuruppin in 2004,[10] the Joseph Breitbach Prize,[11] the Georg Büchner Prize in 2011,[1][12][13] and the Critics Prize.[14] He was a member of the Freie Akademie der Künste Hamburg, the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung[7] and the Academy of Arts, Berlin.[15] In 2022, he left the PEN Centre Germany after 50 years of membership.[1][16] Delius received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2017.[9]

In the citation for the 2011 Büchner Prize, Delius was described as a "critical, resourceful and inventive observer" ("kritischer, findiger und erfinderischer Beobachter") who dealt with Germans in the 20th century "from the prehistory of the Nazi era to the time of partition and the immediate present" ("von der Vorgeschichte der NS-Zeit über die Zeit der Teilung bis in die unmittelbare Gegenwart").[1][9]

 
Delius in 2019

Delius was married twice; he and his first wife, Gisela Klann-Delius [de], had two daughters.[9][17] Since the late 1970s, he divided his time between Berlin and Rome.[9][18]

Delius died on 30 May 2022 in Berlin, at the age of 79.[6][7][19]

Work

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Delius published more than 35 books.[7] Der Spaziergang von Rostock nach Syrakus [de] (The stroll from Rostock to Syracuse) is a 1995 story with a protagonist from East Germany who dreams of walking to Italy like Johann Gottfried Seume in the 19th century.[20] In Der Sonntag, an dem ich Weltmeister wurde, he wrote about the German victory in association football at the 1954 FIFA World Cup, and his Deutscher Herbst trilogy was about the RAF terrorism.[1] The 1968 student protests were the background for Amerikahaus oder der Tanz der Frauen (America house or the dance of the women).[6]

Novels in English translation

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Schriftsteller und Büchner-Preisträger: Friedrich Christian Delius ist tot". Der Spiegel (in German). 31 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Kultur: Schriftsteller Friedrich Christian Delius gestorben". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). 31 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Schriftsteller F.C. Delius im Alter von 79 Jahren gestorben". rbb24 (in German). 31 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Preisträger ist in Wehrda aufgewachsen". Oberhessische Presse (in German). 28 October 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  5. ^ Delius, Friedrich Christian; Haas, Wolf (2011). Der Held und sein Wetter ein Kunstmittel und sein ideologischer Gebrauch im Roman des bürgerlichen Realismus (in German). Göttingen. ISBN 978-3-8353-1028-5. OCLC 759843498.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ a b c Knipphals, Dirk (31 May 2022). "Nachruf auf Schriftsteller F. C. Delius: Schweigen und Lachen". Die Tageszeitung: Taz (in German). Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e Eckardt, Lisa-Marie (31 May 2022). "Schriftsteller Friedrich Christian Delius ist tot". Die Zeit (in German). Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Friedrich Christian Delius | Authors". Macmillan.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Büchner-Preisträger stirbt mit 79 Jahren". Stern (in German). 31 May 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Fontane-Literaturpreis" (in German). Fontane Prize. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Delius erhält Joseph-Breitbach-Preis". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). 2 July 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  12. ^ Krause, Tilman (31 May 2022). "F.C. Delius: Nachruf auf den Chronisten der Bundesrepublik". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  13. ^ Lewitscharoff, Sybille (22 November 2011). "Von Rom aus durch Deutschland spazieren gehen". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Deutscher Kritikerpreis". Literaturpreis Gewinner (in German). 29 July 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Delius". Akademie der Künste, Berlin (in German). Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  16. ^ Delius, Friedrich Christian (16 May 2022). "Schriftsteller F.C. Delius: Warum ich nach fünfzig Jahren aus dem PEN austrete". FAZ.NET (in German). Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Friedrich Christian Delius". Marktgemeinde Haunetal (in German). 4 April 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Friedrich Christian Delius – Autorenlexikon". LiteraturPort (in German). Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  19. ^ Platthaus, Andreas (31 May 2022). "Zum Tod von F.C. Delius: Je persönlicher er wurde, desto größer das Staunen". FAZ.NET (in German). Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  20. ^ Osterkamp, Ernst (10 October 1995). "Rigoletto für Segler / F. C. Delius reist nach Syrakus". FAZ.NET (in German). Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  21. ^ Delius, Friedrich Christian (1991). Die Birnen von Ribbeck : Erzählung (in German). Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt. ISBN 3-498-01287-8. OCLC 23922322.
  22. ^ Delius, F.C. (1991). The Pears of Ribbeck. Exile Editions. ISBN 978-1-55096-022-8. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  23. ^ Delius, Friedrich Christian (2004). Der Sonntag, an dem ich Weltmeister wurde Erzählung (in German). Reinbek bei Hamburg. ISBN 978-3-499-23659-4. OCLC 723058077.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  24. ^ Willson, A.L.; Walser, M.; Schneider, P.; Delius, F.C. (2001). Three Contemporary German Novellas: Friedrich Christian Delius, Peter Schneider and Martin Walser. German Library. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-0-8264-1214-0. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  25. ^ Delius, Friedrich Christian (2006). Bildnis der Mutter als junge Frau : Erzählung (in German). Berlin: Rowohlt. ISBN 978-3-87134-556-2. OCLC 71747477.
  26. ^ Delius, F.C.; Bulloch, J. (2012). Portrait of the Mother as a Young Woman: A Novel. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-1-4668-0215-5. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  27. ^ Delius, Friedrich Christian (2013). Die linke Hand des Papstes (in German). Berlin. ISBN 978-3-87134-770-2. OCLC 858274247.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  28. ^ Delius, Friedrich Christian; Cantrick, Robert A. (2019). The Pope's left hand. Whately, Massachusetts. ISBN 978-1-7336301-0-8. OCLC 1090012375.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Further reading

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