Gert Jonke


Gert Friedrich Jonke was an Austrian poet, playwright and novelist.

Life

Jonke was born and educated in Klagenfurt, Austria. He attended the Gymnasium and the Conservatory. After he served his mandatory military service, he continued his studies at the College of Music and Representative Art in Vienna in the Film and Television Department. He did not, however, complete his studies there, nor his studies of History, Philosophy, Music Theory, or German Studies at the University of Vienna which followed.
He became friends with the writers' circle of Graz, a centre of the Austrian literary avant garde of the time. In 1969 he published his first novel, Geometrischer Heimatroman, which met with some success. The book received a positive review by Peter Handke in Der Spiegel.
In 1971 he received a scholarship to study in West Berlin, where he stayed for five years. He then lived for a year in London, followed by extensive travels throughout the Middle East and South America. In 1977, he moved with his partner to Argentina, where he met Borges. He returned to Austria in the 1980s.
Jonke died of cancer at the age of 62 on 4 January 2009, in Vienna. He was given a grave of honor in the Zentralfriedhof, the central cemetery in Vienna.

Works

Prose

Geometrischer Heimatroman. Geometric Regional Novel, trans. Johannes W. Vazulik Beginn einer Verzweiflung: Epiloge. The Beginnings of a Despair: EpiloguesMusikgeschichte. Music HistoryGlashausbesichtigung. A Tour of Glass HousesDie Vermehrung der Leuchttürme. The Multiplication of the LighthousesSchule der Geläufigkeit: Erzählungen. Homage to Czerny: Studies in Virtuoso Technique, trans. Jean M. Snook Der ferne Klang. The Distant Sound, trans. Jean M. Snook Die erste Reise zum unerforschten Grund des stillen Horizonts. Collection of revised versions of works written between 1965 and 1980: "Wiederholung des Festes"; Das System von Wien; Geometrischer Heimatroman; Glashausbesichtigung; Die Hinterhältigkeit der Windmaschinen; and Die Vermehrung der LeuchttürmeErwachen zum großen Schlafkrieg. Awakening to the Great Sleep War, trans. Jean M. Snook Der Kopf des Georg Friedrich Händel. The Head of George Frederick Handel, included in the English-language compilation Blinding MomentStoffgewitter. Thunderbolts of Cloth. Includes the novella Geblendeter Augenblick: Anton Weberns Tod and the autobiographical essay "Individuum und Metamorphose".Himmelstraße – Erdbrustplatz oder Das System von Wien. The System of Vienna: From Heaven Street to Earth Mound Square, trans. Vincent Kling
  • * Reworked stories from Musikgeschichte, Beginn einer Verzweiflung and ''Das System von Wien''

Plays and poems

Damals vor Graz, Forum Stadtpark Graz 1989Die Hinterhältigkeit der Windmaschinen: Tragodie in drei Akten. The Deviousness of the Wind MachinesIm Inland und im Ausland auch. At Home as Well as Abroad: Poems, Radio Plays, Theatrical PlaysSanftwut oder Der Ohrenmaschinist: Eine Theatersonate, Styriarte Graz 1990
  • * First performance in Sign Language with the deaf actor Werner Mössler by ARBOS - Company for Music and Theatre Vienna 2006Opus 111: Ein Klavierstuck, Volkstheater Vienna 1993Gegenwart der Erinnerung, Volkstheater Vienna 1995Es singen die Steine: ein Stück Naturtheater, Stadttheater Klagenfurt 1998Insektarium, Volkstheater Vienna 1999, published 2001Die Vögel, UA Volkstheater Wien 2002Chorphantasie: Konzert fur Dirigent auf der Suche nach dem Orchester, Schauspielhaus Graz, 2003Redner rund um die Uhr: Eine Sprechsonate, Semper-Depot Vienna, 2004Seltsame Sache: Ein Melodram für Lorenzo da Ponte, Ruhrtriennale, 2005Die versunkene Kathedrale, Burgtheater Vienna 2005Freier Fall, UA Akademietheater Vienna 2008 Bursting Suddenly, aktionstheater ensemble at the Festspielhaus Bregenz and Semper Depot Vienna 2008Alle Stücke
  • ''Alle Gedichte''

Other works

Schwarzbuch. Photos by Sepp Schmölzer, text by Jonke.Das Verhalten auf sinkenden Schiffen. Text of a speech by Ilse Aichinger with response from Jonke.Klagenfurt: Ansichten in klassischen Schwarzweiß-Fotografien. Photos by Siegfried Gutzelnig, text by Jonke.

Compilations in English

Blinding Moment: Four Pieces About Composers, trans. Vincent Kling. Includes:
  • * The Head of George Frederick Handel
  • * "Catalogue d'oiseaux"
  • * Gentle Rage, or The Ear Machinist
  • * ''Blinding Moment''

Awards and honors