Peter Handke - Early life, Career, Works, List of works, English editions

Writer, born in Griffin, Kärnten, S Austria. He first studied law in Graz, then became known for his Publikumsbeschimpfung und andere Sprechstücke (1966) which questioned traditional theatre methods and the role of language itself, following the Austrian philosophical tradition of Wittgenstein and Popper. The nature of language is also the subject of the pantomime Kaspar (1968) and his early novels Die Hornissen (1966) and Der Hausierer (1967). The individual in an alien world, the self, and the role of the artist are themes which permeate his extensive work, which includes novels, essays, and theatre and radio plays. He has received numerous awards, notably the Georg-Büchner-Preis (1973) and the Großer Österreicher Staatspreis (1987).

Early life

Handke and his mother (who is said to be the model for the protagonist in A Sorrow Beyond Dreams) lived in East Berlin from 1944 to 1948 before resettling in Griffen.

Career

Ever the enfant terrible, Peter Handke exemplifies the complexity of writing as an Austrian in the post WW2 period, and his work has continually provoked controversy and outrage on a variety of fronts.

During the 1980s, he travelled extensively, visiting amongs other places, Alaska, Japan and Yugoslavia

After leaving Graz, Handke lived in Düsseldorf, Berlin, Kronberg, all over Germany, in Paris, France, in the USA (1978 to 1979) and in Salzburg, Austria (1979 to 1988).

In 1996 his travelogue Eine winterliche Reise zu den Flüssen Donau, Save, Morawa und Drina oder Gerechtigkeit für Serbien (A Journey to the Rivers: Justice for Serbia) created considerable controversy, as Handke portrayed Serbia among the victims of the Balkan War.

On March 18, 2006, in front of more than 20 000 mourners at the funeral of Slobodan Milošević, Handke gave a speech in Serbian which sparked much controversy in the West.

Works

Handke collaborated with director Wim Wenders on a film version of his novel Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter (The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick) and co-wrote the screenplay for Wenders' Wings of Desire.

List of works

Works in English translation are italicized.

1966 "Die Hornissen", ("The Hornets"), novel 1966 "Publikumsbeschimpfung und andere Sprechstücke", ("Offending the Audience and Other Spoken Plays"), play, English version in Offending the Audience and Self-accusation 1967 "Begrüßung des Aufsichtsrates", ("Welcoming the Supervisor"), prose texts 1967 "Der Hausierer", ("The Peddler"), novel 1967 "Kaspar", ("Kaspar"), play, English version also in Kaspar and other Plays 1969 "Deutsche Gedichte", "German Poems", poetry 1969 "Die Innenwelt der Außenwelt der Innenwelt", ("The Innerworld of the Outerworld of the Innerworld"), text collages 1969 "Prosa, Gedichte, Theaterstücke, Hörspiele, Aufsätze", ("Prose, Poems, Plays, Radio Plays, Essays"), collected texts 1969 "Das Mündel will Vormund sein", "The Ward Wants to be Warden"), play 1970 "Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter", ("The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick"), screenplay and novel 1970 "Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald von Ödön von Horvath", ("Stories from the Wienerwald by Ödon von Horvath"). Four Radio Plays") 1971 "Chronik der laufenden Ereignisse", ("Chronicle of Current Events") 1971 "Der Ritt über den Bodensee", ("The Ride Across Lake Constance"), play 1971 "Der kurze Brief zum langen Abschied", ("Short Letter, Long Farewell"), story 1972 "Ich bin ein Bewohner des Elfenbeinturms", ("I Am a resident of the Ivory Tower"), essays 1972 "Stücke 1", ("Plays 1") 1972 "Wunschloses Unglück", ("A Sorrow Beyond Dreams. Stories, Poems, Plays") 1975 "Die Stunde der wahren Empfindung", ("A Moment of True Feeling"), story 1975 "Falsche Bewegung", ("Wrong Move"), novel 1976 "Die linkshändige Frau", ("The Left-Handed Woman"), film version 1977 1977 *"Das Ende des Flanierens. also in Slkow Homecoming 1980 *"Die Lehre der Sainte-Victoire", ("The Lesson of MountSainte-Victoire"), story, in Slow Homecoming 1981 "Über die Dörfer", ("Walk about the Villages"), theatrical poem 1981 "Kindergeschichte", ("Child Story"), story, in Slow Homecoming 1982 "Die Geschichte des Bleistifts", ("History of the Pencil"), texts 1983 "Der Chinese des Schmerzes", ("Across"), story 1984 "Phantasien der Wiederholung", ("Phantasies of Repetition"), 1986 "Die Wiederholung", ("Repetition") 1987 "Der Himmel über Berlin", ("Wings of Desire") with Wim Wenders, screenplay 1987 "Die Abwesenheit. Ein Märchen", ("Absence"), film version directed by Handke 1992 1987 "Gedichte", ("Poems") 1987 "Nachmittag eines Schriftstellers", ("Afternoon of a Writer"), story 1989 "Das Spiel vom Fragen oder Die Reise zum sonoren Land", ("Voyage to the Sonorous Land or the Art of Asking"), play 1989 "Versuch über die Müdigkeit", ("Essay about Tiredness") 1990 "Noch einmal für Thukydides", ("Once Again for Thucydides")', texts 1990 "Versuch über die Jukebox", ("Essay about the Jukebox"), Engl version in The Jukebox and Other Essays on Storytelling. 1991 "Abschied des Träumers vom Neunten Land", ("The Dreamer's Farewell to the Ninth Country"), texts 1991 "Versuch über den geglückten Tag. A Winterday's Dream") 1992 "Die Stunde, da wir nichts voneinander wußten.", ("The Hour When We Knew Nothing about Each Other"), play 1992 "Die Theaterstücke", ("The Theatrical Plays") 1992 "Drei Versuche. Collected Dispersals 1980-1992"), texts 1994 "Die Kunst des Fragens", ("The Art of Questioning"), texts 1994 "Mein Jahr in der Niemandsbucht. Ein Märchen aus den neuen Zeiten", ("My Year in the No-Man's-Bay"), novel 1996 "Eine winterliche Reise zu den Flüssen Donau, Save, Morawa und Drina oder Gerechtigkeit für Serbien", ("A Journey to the Rivers: Justice for Serbia"), essay 1996 "Sommerlicher Nachtrag zu einer winterlichen Reise", ("A Summery Addendum to a Winter's Journey"), essay 1997 "Zurüstungen für die Unsterblichkeit. A Journey through Carinthia, Slovenia, Friaul, Istria and Dalmatia"), essay 1999 "Die Fahrt im Einbaum oder Das Stück zum Film vom Krieg", ("The Canoe Ride or The Play about the Film about the War"), play 1999 "Lucie im Wald mit den Dingsda. Belated Chronicle from two Crossings through Yugoslavia During the War, March and April 1999"), texts 2002 "Der Bildverlust oder Durch die Sierra de Gredos", ("The Lost Image or Through the Sierra de Gredos") 2002 "Mündliches und Schriftliches. A Station Play") 2004 "Don Juan (erzählt von ihm selbst)", ("Don Juan (Told by Himself)"), novel 2005 "Die Tablas von Daimiel", ("The Tablas of Daimiel"), essay 2005 "Gestern unterwegs, ("Travelling Yesterday"), texts

English editions

Many of Handke's works have been published in several English speaking countries by different publishers. Only one edition of each work is listed.

1970 Kaspar and Other Plays, Hill and Wang, ISBN 0-8090-1546-3 1971 Offending the Audience/Self-accusation, Methuen Publishing Ltd, ISBN 0-416-19570-9 1972 The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick, Farrar Straus & Giroux, ISBN 0-374-16376-6 1973 The Ride Across Lake Constance, Methuen Publishing Ltd, ISBN 0-413-29690-3 1974 Slow Homecoming, Collier Books, ISBN 0-02-051530-8 1974 Short Letter, Long Farewell, Farrar Straus & Giroux, ISBN 0-374-26318-3 1974 The Innerworld of the Outerworld of the Innerworld, A Continuum Book/The Seabury Press, ISBN 0-374-28745-7 1976 They Are Dying Out, Eyre Methuen, ISBN 0-413-33690-5 1976 Ride Across Lake Constance and Other Plays, Noonday Press, ISBN 0-374-51272-8 1976 Nonsense and Happiness, Urizen Books, ISBN 0-916354-20-2 1977 A Moment of True Feeling, Farrar Straus & Giroux, ISBN 0-374-17291-9 1978 The Left-Handed Woman, Farrar Straus & Giroux , ISBN 0-374-18497-6 1979 Two Novels by Peter Handke, Avon, ISBN 0-380-48033-6 1984 3 X Handke, Collier Books, ISBN 0-02-020761-1 1984 The Weight of the World, Farrar Straus & Giroux, ISBN 0-374-28745-7 1985 Three by Peter Handke, Avon, ISBN 0-380-00968-4 1986 Across, Farrar Straus & Giroux, ISBN 0-374-52764-4 1988 Repetition, Farrar Straus & Giroux, ISBN 0-374-24934-2 1989 The Afternoon of a Writer, Farrar Straus & Giroux, ISBN 0-374-10207-4 1990 Absence, Farrar Straus & Giroux, ISBN 0-374-10022-5 1994 The Jukebox and Other Essays on Storytelling, Farrar Straus & Giroux, ISBN 0-374-18054-7 1996 Walk About the Villages : A Dramatic Poem, Farrar Straus & Giroux, ISBN 1-57241-000-0 1996 Voyage to the Sonorous Land : Or the Art of Asking and the Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other, Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-06273-7 1997 A Journey to the Rivers : Justice for Serbia, Viking, ISBN 0-670-87341-1 1998 Once Again for Thucydides, New Directions Publishing Corporation, ISBN 0-8112-1388-9 1998 My Year in the No-Man's-Bay , Farrar Straus & Giroux, ISBN 0-374-17547-0 2000 On a Dark Night I Left My Silent House, Farrar Straus & Giroux, ISBN 0-374-17547-0 2002 A Sorrow Beyond Dreams, New York Review Books Classics, ISBN 1-59017-019-9 2003 Handke Plays, Methuen Publishing Ltd, ISBN 0-413-68090-8