Barbara Honigmann
Encyclopedia
Barbara Honigmann is a German author and artist.
Barbara Honigmann is the daughter of German-Jewish emigrants, who returned to East Berlin
in 1947 after a period of exile
in Great Britain
. Her mother, Litzi Friedman, was the first wife of Kim Philby
and her father, Georg Honigmann, was the chief editor of the "Berliner Zeitung
". From 1967 to 1972, she studied theatre at Humboldt University in East Berlin.
In the following years she worked as a drama
tist and director in Brandenburg
and Berlin
. She has been a freelance writer since 1975. In 1984, she left the GDR
and currently lives with her family in Strasbourg
.
Barbara Honigmann is the daughter of German-Jewish emigrants, who returned to East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
in 1947 after a period of exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. Her mother, Litzi Friedman, was the first wife of Kim Philby
Kim Philby
Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby was a high-ranking member of British intelligence who worked as a spy for and later defected to the Soviet Union...
and her father, Georg Honigmann, was the chief editor of the "Berliner Zeitung
Berliner Zeitung
The Berliner Zeitung, founded in 1945, is a German center-left daily newspaper based in Berlin, published by Berliner Verlag. It is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since unification. In 2003, the Berliner was Berlin's largest subscription newspaper—the weekend...
". From 1967 to 1972, she studied theatre at Humboldt University in East Berlin.
In the following years she worked as a drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
tist and director in Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. She has been a freelance writer since 1975. In 1984, she left the GDR
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
and currently lives with her family in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
.
Awards
- 1986 - Aspekte-LiteraturpreisAspekte-LiteraturpreisAspekte-Literaturpreis is a literary prize of Germany.- Winners:*1979 Hanns-Josef Ortheil for Fermer*1980 Michael Schneider for Das Spiegelkabinett*1981 Thomas Hürlimann for Die Tessinerin*1982 Inge Merkel for Das andere Gesicht...
- 1992 - Stefan-Andres-Preis
- 1994 - Nicolas-Born-Preis
- 1996 - Ehrengabe der Deutschen Schillerstiftung
- 2000 - Kleist PrizeKleist PrizeThe Kleist Prize is an annual German literature prize. The prize was first awarded in 1912, on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the death of Heinrich von Kleist. The Kleist Prize was the most important literary award of the Weimar Republic, but was discontinued in 1933.In 1985 the prize...
- 2001 - Jeanette-Schocken-Preis.
- 2004 - Solothurner LiteraturpreisSolothurner LiteraturpreisThe Solothurner Literaturpreis is a literary award for an 'literary achievement by a German language writer.Awarded since 1994, the annual prize is 20,000 Swiss francs...
.
Works
- Das singende, springende Löweneckerchen, Berlin 1979
- Der Schneider von Ulm, Berlin 1981
- Don Juan, Berlin 1981
- Roman von einem Kinde, Darmstadt [u.a.] 1986 ISBN 3-423-12893-3
- Eine Liebe aus nichts, Reinbek: Rowohlt 1991 ISBN 3-499-13245-1
- Soharas Reise, Berlin 1996 ISBN 3-499-22495-X
- Am Sonntag spielt der Rabbi Fußball, Heidelberg: Wunderhorn 1998 ISBN 3-88423-134-0
- Damals, dann und danach, München: Hanser 1999 ISBN 3-446-19668-4
- Alles, alles Liebe!, Munich: dtv 2000 ISBN 3-423-13135-7
- Ein Kapitel aus meinem Leben, Munich: Hanser 2004 ISBN 3-446-20531-4
- Das Gesicht wiederfinden. Über Schreiben, Schriftsteller und Judentum, Munich: Hanser 2006 ISBN 3-446-20681-7 & ISBN 978-3-446-20681-6
- Blick übers Tal. Zu Fotos von Arnold Zwahlen Basel/Weil am Rhein: Engeler 2007, ISBN 978-3-938767-38-2
- Das überirdische Licht: Rückkehr nach New York, Munich: Hanser 2008 ISBN 3446230858 & ISBN 978-3446230859
Translations
- Lev Ustinov: Die Holz-Eisenbahn, Berlin 1979 (with Nelly Drechsler)
- Anna AkhmatovaAnna AkhmatovaAnna Andreyevna Gorenko , better known by the pen name Anna Akhmatova , was a Russian and Soviet modernist poet, one of the most acclaimed writers in the Russian canon.Harrington p11...
: Vor den Fenstern Frost, Berlin 1988 (with Fritz Mierau)