Jenny Erpenbeck

Kristy Boney (Central Missouri State University)

Ed. by Jennifer Marston William, Purdue University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

Born 12 Mar 1967
Activity 1999-ongoing

Places

Born in Germany
Active in Germany

Activities

Primary

Novelist

Other

Playwright / Dramatist

Resources

Erpenbeck's Works

Save to Bookshelf

Though she once stated in an interview for the prestigious Jury Prize in the Ingeborg Bachmann Competition that she never thought she could be a serious writer, for Jenny Erpenbeck writing was a family tradition. Born in 1967 in East Berlin, Erpenbeck grew up in the literary scene, among a family of published writers in the GDR. Additionally, her mother, Doris Kilias, worked as a translator. Thus, it should be no surprise that Erpenbeck began her career in publishing as a bookbinder. Soon, however, Erpenbeck went into theater and worked in props and costumes at the Berlin State Opera. In 1988 she began to study drama at Humboldt University, and from 1990 to 1994 she studied concert hall direction at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music. Since 1991, with notable teachers such as Ruth…

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737 words

Citation: Boney, Kristy. "Jenny Erpenbeck". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 February 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13313, accessed 22 November 2024.]