Gisela Elsner
Encyclopedia
Gisela Elsner was a German writer. She won the Prix Formentor
in 1964 for her novel Die Riesenzwerge (The Dwarf Giant, Rowohlt, (Gallimard), 1961).
and drama. Then she lived as a freelance writer in various places: Lake Starnberg
, Frankfurt
, from 1963 to 1964 in Rome, from 1964 to 1970 in London, then in Paris, Hamburg, New York and finally in Munich.
She was among the members of Group 47
, which also included Günter Grass
and Heinrich Böll
.
Prix Formentor
The Prix Formentor was an international literary prize awarded between 1961 and 1967. The Formentor Group offered two prizes, the Prix Formentor and the Prix International, . The Prix Formentor was given to previously unpublished work and the the Prix International was given to work already in...
in 1964 for her novel Die Riesenzwerge (The Dwarf Giant, Rowohlt, (Gallimard), 1961).
Life
From 1959 she went to Vienna to study philosophy, Germanic lettersGerman studies
German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents, and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German history, and German politics in addition to the...
and drama. Then she lived as a freelance writer in various places: Lake Starnberg
Lake Starnberg
Lake Starnberg , 25 kilometers southwest of Munich in southern Bavaria, is Germany's fifth largest freshwater lake and, due to its large average depth, the second richest in water...
, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, from 1963 to 1964 in Rome, from 1964 to 1970 in London, then in Paris, Hamburg, New York and finally in Munich.
She was among the members of Group 47
Group 47
Gruppe 47 was an influential literary association in Germany after World War II. '47' Stands for the year of their creation, 1947.-Early history:The beginnings reach back to1946 when Alfred Andersch and Walter Kolbenhoff founded the literary...
, which also included Günter Grass
Günter Grass
Günter Wilhelm Grass is a Nobel Prize-winning German author, poet, playwright, sculptor and artist.He was born in the Free City of Danzig...
and Heinrich Böll
Heinrich Böll
Heinrich Theodor Böll was one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers. Böll was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize in 1967 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1972.- Biography :...
.
The touch ban
In her 1970 novel Berührungsverbot (The touch ban or The prohibition of contact), several couples try to transcend the limits of the bourgeois sexual mores of their middle-class background by engaging in group sex orgies. In Switzerland a journal that published excerpts from the novel was seized, and in Austria it was attacked as harmful to children.Further reading
- Christine Flitner: Frauen in der Literaturkritik. Elfriede Jelinek und Gisela Elsner im Feuilleton der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. (= Frauen in der Literaturgeschichte, Bd. 3) Pfaffenweiler 1995.
- Oskar Roehler: Die Unberührbare, Köln 2002
- Dorothe Cremer: „Ihre Gebärden sind riesig, ihre Äußerungen winzig“. Zu Gisela Elsners Die Riesenzwerge; Schreibweise und soziale Realität der Adenauerzeit. Herbolzheim: Centaurus Verlag, 2003.
- Martina Süess: Wenn Otto sich vertilgt. In: WOZ, 3. Juli 2008, Online-Version.
- Christine Künzel (Hrsg.): Die letzte Kommunistin. Texte zu Gisela Elsner. (= konkret texte 49) Hamburg: konkret Literatur Verlag, 2009. ISBN 9783930786565