Ilija Trojanow
Encyclopedia
Ilija Trojanow (born August 23, 1965 in Sofia
), is a Bulgarian
-German
writer
, translator and publisher.
, Bulgaria
in 1965. In 1971 his family fled Bulgaria through Yugoslavia and Italy to Germany, where they received political asylum. In 1972 the family travelled on to Kenya, where Ilija's father had obtained a job as engineer. With one interruption from 1977–1981, Ilija Trojanow lived in Nairobi
until 1984, and attended a German-language school. After a stay in Paris, he studied law
and ethnology
at Munich University from 1985 to 1989. He interrupted these studies to found Kyrill-und-Method-Verlag in 1989, and after that Marino-Verlag in 1992, both of which specialised in African literature. In 1999 Trojanow moved to Mumbai and became intensely involved with Indian life and culture. He has lived in Cape Town
, returned to Germany (Mainz), and then to Austria, where he currently resides in Vienna.
In the 1990s Trojanow wrote several non-fiction and travel books about Africa
, published an anthology of contemporary African literature and translated African authors into German. His first novel, "Die Welt ist groß und Rettung lauert überall", appeared in 1996. In it he recounts his family's experiences as political refugees and asylum seekers. After that appeared the science fiction novel "Autopol", created on the Internet as a "novel in progress," "Hundezeiten", a travel account of a visit to his Bulgarian homeland, and books dealing with his experiences in India. His reportage "Zu den heiligen Quellen des Islam" describes a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Since 2002 Ilija Trojanow has been member of the PEN centre of the Federal Republic of Germany. Among other awards he received the Bertelsmann Literature Prize at the Ingeborg Bachmann
competition in Klagenfurt in 1995, the Marburg Literature Prize in 1996, the Thomas Valentin Prize in 1997, the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize in 2000 and the Leipzig Book Fair Prize
in the category of fiction for his novel "Der Weltensammler" (The Collector of Worlds) in 2006.
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
), is a Bulgarian
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
-German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, translator and publisher.
Life
Trojanow was born in SofiaSofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
in 1965. In 1971 his family fled Bulgaria through Yugoslavia and Italy to Germany, where they received political asylum. In 1972 the family travelled on to Kenya, where Ilija's father had obtained a job as engineer. With one interruption from 1977–1981, Ilija Trojanow lived in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
until 1984, and attended a German-language school. After a stay in Paris, he studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and ethnology
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
at Munich University from 1985 to 1989. He interrupted these studies to found Kyrill-und-Method-Verlag in 1989, and after that Marino-Verlag in 1992, both of which specialised in African literature. In 1999 Trojanow moved to Mumbai and became intensely involved with Indian life and culture. He has lived in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, returned to Germany (Mainz), and then to Austria, where he currently resides in Vienna.
In the 1990s Trojanow wrote several non-fiction and travel books about Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, published an anthology of contemporary African literature and translated African authors into German. His first novel, "Die Welt ist groß und Rettung lauert überall", appeared in 1996. In it he recounts his family's experiences as political refugees and asylum seekers. After that appeared the science fiction novel "Autopol", created on the Internet as a "novel in progress," "Hundezeiten", a travel account of a visit to his Bulgarian homeland, and books dealing with his experiences in India. His reportage "Zu den heiligen Quellen des Islam" describes a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Since 2002 Ilija Trojanow has been member of the PEN centre of the Federal Republic of Germany. Among other awards he received the Bertelsmann Literature Prize at the Ingeborg Bachmann
Ingeborg Bachmann
Ingeborg Bachmann was an Austrian poet and author.-Biography:Bachmann was born in Klagenfurt, in the Austrian state of Carinthia, the daughter of a headmaster. She studied philosophy, psychology, German philology, and law at the universities of Innsbruck, Graz, and Vienna...
competition in Klagenfurt in 1995, the Marburg Literature Prize in 1996, the Thomas Valentin Prize in 1997, the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize in 2000 and the Leipzig Book Fair Prize
Leipzig Book Fair Prize
The Leipzig Book Fair Prize is awarded annually during the Leipzig Book Fair to outstanding newly released literary works in the categories "Fiction", "Non-fiction" and "Translation"...
in the category of fiction for his novel "Der Weltensammler" (The Collector of Worlds) in 2006.
Works
- In Afrika, Munich, 1993 (with Michael Martin)
- Naturwunder Ostafrika, Munich, 1994 (with Michael Martin)
- Hüter der Sonne (Custodians of the Sun), Munich, 1996 (with Chenjerai Hove)
- Kenia mit Nordtansania, Munich, 1996
- Die Welt ist groß und Rettung lauert überall, Munich, 1996
- Autopol, Munich, 1997
- Zimbabwe, Munich, 1998
- Hundezeiten, Munich, 1999
- Der Sadhu an der Teufelswand, Munich, 2001
- An den inneren Ufern Indiens (Along the Ganges), Munich, 2003
- Zu den heiligen Quellen des Islam (Mumbai to Mecca), Munich, 2004
- Der Weltensammler (The Collector of Worlds), Munich, 2006
- Indien. Land des kleinen Glücks, Cadolzburg, 2006
- Gebrauchsanweisung für Indien, Munich, 2006
- Die fingierte Revolution. Bulgarien, eine exemplarische Geschichte, Munich, 2006
- Nomade auf vier Kontinenten, Frankfurt, 2007
- Kampfabsage. Kulturen bekämpfen sich nicht - sie fließen zusammen, Munich, 2007 (with Ranjit HoskoteRanjit HoskoteRanjit Hoskote is a contemporary Indian poet, art critic, cultural theorist and independent curator.-Early life and education:...
) - Der entfesselte Globus, Munich, 2008
- Sehnsucht, Freiburg, 2008 (compiled by Fatma Sagir)
- Kumbh Mela. Das größte Fest der Welt, München 2008 (photographs by Thomas DornThomas DornThomas Dorn is a photographer and contemporary artist who splits his time between Geneva, Cologne and Paris.He has traveled in Africa and some 20 countries. He is known for his album covers for world music, jazz and pop...
) - Angriff auf die Freiheit. Sicherheitswahn, Überwachungsstaat und der Abbau bürgerlicher Rechte, Munich 2009 (with Juli ZehJuli ZehJuli Zeh is a German novelist.Her first book was Adler und Engel , which won the 2002 Deutscher Bücherpreis for best debut novel. She traveled through Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2001, which became the basis for the book Die Stille ist ein Geräusch...
)
English translations
- Custodians of the Sun
- Along the Ganges, translation by Ranjit HoskoteRanjit HoskoteRanjit Hoskote is a contemporary Indian poet, art critic, cultural theorist and independent curator.-Early life and education:...
, Penguin Books India & Haus Publishing, 2005 - Mumbai to Mecca, London, 2007, Haus Publishing
- The Collector of Worlds, London, 2008
Publishing
- Afrikanissimo, Wuppertal, 1991 (with Peter Ripken)
- Das Huhn das schreit gehört dem Fremden (The screaming Chicken belongs to the Stranger), Munich, 1998
- Döner in Walhalla (Doner in Valhalla), Cologne, 2000
- Die Welt des Ryszard Kapuściński. Seine besten Geschichten und Reportagen, Frankfurt, 2007
- Egon Erwin Kisch. Die schönsten Geschichten und Reportagen, Berlin, 2008
Translations
- Sobornost. Kirche, Bibel, Tradition (Bible, church, tradition) by Georgij V. Florovskij, München 1989
- Der Berg am Rande des Himmels (The Mountain on the Edge of the Sky) by Timothy Wangusa, Munich, 1989
- Knochen (Bones) by Chenjerai Hove, Munich, 1990
- Der Preis der Freiheit (The Price of Freedom) by Tsitsi Dangarembga, Reinbek bei Hamburg, 1991
- Buckingham Palace (Buckingham Palace, district six) by Richard Rive, München 1994
- Der letzte Ausweis (Identity card) by F. M. Esfandiary, Frankfurt, 2009
Film Adaptations
- The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the CornerThe World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the CornerThe World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner is a 2008 Bulgarian drama film, co-produced with Slovenia, Germany and Hungary. Its original Bulgarian title is Светът е голям и спасение дебне отвсякъде , literally meaning The World is Big and Salvation Prowls on All Sides.The film is...
, 2007, directed by Stefan Komandarev with Miki Manojlovic as Bai Dan and Carlo Ljubek as Alexander
External links
- Literature by and about Ilija Trojanow (in German) in the catagalogue of the DDB, or German National Library
- Biography, Lettre Ulysses Award jury member (in English)
- The collector of worlds, on Trojanov's novel of the same name, at signandsight.com
- Ilija Trojanow on F.M. Esfandiary: Searching for Identity in Iran's Labyrinthine Bureaucracy