Richard Wagner is a Romanian-born German novelist. He has published a number of short stories, novels and essays.

A member of Romania's German minority

Germans of Romania

The Germans of Romania or Rumäniendeutsche were 760,000 strong in 1930. They are not a single group; thus, to understand their language, culture, and history, one must view them as independent groups:...

, like his eventual wife, he studied German and Romanian literature at the Timişoara University

West University of Timisoara

The West University of Timişoara is a university located in Timişoara, Romania. Established in 1962, it is organized in 11 Faculties.-Organization:...

. He then worked as a German language school teacher and as a journalist, and published poetry and short stories in German. He was also a member of Aktionsgruppe Banat

Aktionsgruppe Banat

The Aktionsgruppe Banat was a literary society that fought for freedom of speech, founded by German-speaking authors of the Banat Swabian minority in the Romanian Banat in 1972...

, a German-speaking literary society.

In 1987, he left Romania for West Berlin

West Berlin

West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...

 with Herta Müller

Herta Müller

Herta Müller is a Romanian-born German novelist, poet and essayist noted for her works depicting the effects of violence, cruelty and terror, usually in the setting of Communist Romania under the repressive Nicolae Ceauşescu regime which she experienced herself...

, his wife at that time, due to communist oppression and censorship

Communist Romania

Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...

 in Nicolae Ceauşescu

Nicolae Ceausescu

Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...

-ruled Romania. He still lives in Berlin.

Publications

• Klartext. Ein Gedichtbuch (1973)
• die invasion der uhren. Gedichte (1977)
• Der Anfang einer Geschichte. Prosa (1980)
• Hotel California I. Der Tag, der mit einer Wunde begann. Gedichte (1980)
• Anna und die Uhren. Ein Lesebuch für kleine Leute mit Bildern von Cornelia König (1981, 1987)
• Gegenlicht. Gedichte (1983)
• Das Auge des Feuilletons. Geschichten und Notizen. (1984)
• Rostregen. Gedichte. Luchterhand (1986)
• Ausreiseantrag (1988)
• Begrüßungsgeld (1989)
• Die Muren von Wien. Roman (1990)
• Der Sturz des Tyrannen. Rumänien und das Ende der Diktatur. Herausgegeben mit Helmuth Frauendorfer (1990)
• Sonderweg Rumänien. Bericht aus einem Entwicklungsland (1991)
• Schwarze Kreide. Gedichte (1991)
• Völker ohne Signale. Zum Epochenbruch in Osteuropa. Essay (1992)
• Der Himmel von New York im Museum von Amsterdam. Geschichten (1992)
• Heiße Maroni. Gedichte (1993)
• Giancarlos Koffer (1993)
• Mythendämmerung. Einwürfe eines Mitteleuropäers (1993)
• Der Mann, der Erdrutsche sammelte. Geschichten (1994)
• In der Hand der Frauen, Roman (1995, DVA), ISBN 3-421-05008-2
• Lisas geheimes Buch. Roman (1996)
• Im Grunde sind wir alle Sieger. Roman (1998)
• Mit Madonna in der Stadt. Gedichte (2000)
• Miss Bukarest, Roman (2001, Aufbau), ISBN 3-351-02926-8
• Ich hatte ein bisschen Kraft drüber, Materialsammlung zu Birgit Vanderbeke
  Birgit Vanderbeke
  Birgit Vanderbeke is a German writer.Vanderbeke grew up in Frankfurt am Main after her family moved to the western part of Germany in 1961. She studied Law, Germanic and Romanic languages...
  
   von Richard Wagner (2001, S. Fischer TB), ISBN 3-596-14937-1
• Der leere Himmel, Reise in das Innere des Balkan, Essay (2003, Aufbau), ISBN 3-351-02548-3
• Habseligkeiten, Roman (2004, Aufbau), ISBN 3-351-03027-4
• Der deutsche Horizont. Vom Schicksal eines guten Landes, Essay (2006, Aufbau), ISBN 3-351-02628-5
• Das reiche Mädchen, Roman (2007, Aufbau) ISBN 3-351-03226-9
• Es reicht. Gegen den Ausverkauf unserer Werte, Essay (2008, Aufbau) ISBN 3-351-02673-0

Honours

• 1987 Spezial prize of the Leonce-und-Lena-Preis
  Leonce-und-Lena-Preis
  Leonce-und-Lena-Preis is a literary prize of Hesse.-Winners:* 2011 Steffen Popp* 2009 Ulrike Almut Sandig* 2007 Christian Schloyer* 2005 Ron Winkler* 2003 Anja Utler* 2001 Silke Scheuermann, Sabine Scho* 1999 Raphael Urweider* 1997 Dieter M...
  
  
• 1988 Förderpreis of the Andreas-Gryphius-Preis
  Andreas-Gryphius-Preis
  Andreas-Gryphius-Preis is a literary prize of Germany.- Winners :* 1957 Heinz Piontek – Hauptpreis* 1959 August Scholtis – Hauptpreis* 1962 Karl Dedecius – Förderpreis* 1963 Wolfgang Schwarz – Ehrengabe* 1965** Josef Mühlberger** Peter Jokostra...
  
  
• 1989 Deutscher Sprachpreis, with Gerhardt Csejka, Helmuth Frauendorfer, Klaus Hensel, Johann Lippet, Herta Müller
  Herta Müller
  Herta Müller is a Romanian-born German novelist, poet and essayist noted for her works depicting the effects of violence, cruelty and terror, usually in the setting of Communist Romania under the repressive Nicolae Ceauşescu regime which she experienced herself...
  
  , Werner Söllner and William Totok
• 1990/91 Rom-Preis, of the Deutsche Akademie Villa Massimo
  Villa Massimo
  Villa Massimo, short for Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo , is a German art institute in Rome, established in 1910 and located in the Villa Massimo....
  
  
• 2000 ndl-Literaturpreis
• 2008 Georg Dehio-Buchpreis

Literature

• Andrea Mork, Richard Wagner als politischer Schriftsteller: Weltanschauung und Wirkungsgeschichte, Campus, 1990, ISBN 3593343665, ISBN 978-3593343662

External links