Ewald Arenz

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Writer Ewald Arenz 2020

Ewald Arenz (born November 26, 1965 in Nuremberg ) is a German writer and teacher.

Life

He is the eldest son of the Arenz family of artists and brother of the writer Sigrun Arenz and the actor and author Helwig Arenz , all three of whom published in the ars vivendi publishing house . He is also related to the sculptor Ewald Rumpf (uncle) and the writer Mara Winter (cousin). He graduated from high school at Heinrich-Schliemann-Gymnasium Fürth and studied English , American and history in Erlangen . He is a teacher at the Johannes-Scharrer-Gymnasium in Nuremberg and lives near Fürth . He has received numerous cultural awards for his literary work. Arenz moderates the program Das Ferienfeuilleton on Bayern 2 and from 2009 to 2012 headed the semester workshop writing at the Stadttheater Fürth . From 2007 to 2010 he wrote the weekly literary column “My little world” for the Nürnberger Nachrichten . Together with his siblings Sigrun and Helwig, he continued it from 2015 to 2017 in a new form under the title “Our little world”. In 2018 he switched to DuMont Buchverlag .

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The narrative work follows the classic narrative tradition; linguistically abstract or experimental elements are rare. While the novels “The Tea Magician”, “The Invention of Gustav Lichtenberg” and “ The Scent of Chocolate ” are in the tradition of magical realism , “The Diamond Girl ” and “A Song About the City” are historical novels. A feature that connects all of the works mentioned is the embedding of a central, human conflict in an exotic or sensual framework. In “The Invention of Gustav Lichtenberg” the hero's inability to communicate is linked to the history of technology in the 19th century; in “The Tea Magician” the history of tea is connected with the contradicting longings of modern man for the one great love. The question of the tension between personal freedom and responsibility towards others is embedded in “A Song About the City” in a context that tells the story of female aviation in the first half of the 20th century.

In contrast to this, the contemporary novels like “Ehrlich & Sons” or “Don Fernando inherits America” are characterized by a much lighter tone. Cheerful, sometimes slapstick elements predominate here. In them, as in numerous stories, the style is clearly more casual; Dialogue wit and unexpected twists and turns dominate the narrative, whereby the development of the plot is sometimes even subordinated to these elements. The fantastic novel "Herr Müller, die crazy cat and God", on the other hand, deals with fundamental religious questions despite the humorous polished style, which is clearly influenced by British authors such as Douglas Adams or Neil Gaiman . The novel "Old Varieties" stands out from the previous work in many ways. Among other things, it is a classic coming of age novel that tells the story of a difficult friendship between women at a high level of language. In comparison with his entertainment novels, "Old Sorts" can be classified as upscale literature due to the linguistic precision. In 2020, "Old Varieties" reached a place in the top ten on the SPIEGEL bestseller list , making it one of the best-selling paperbacks in Germany. “The scent of chocolate” and “Old varieties” have been translated into Italian, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the Czech Republic, among others.

Musicals have great weight in dramatic work; besides them there is only one classic tabloid comedy (“The Odalisque”) and the adaptation of a play by Lillian Hellman “ The Little Foxes ”, which have been performed on major stages. From a narrative point of view, the musicals follow the novels, as they also often deal with historical material. “Bahn Frei!” Tells the life story of the railway pioneer Friedrich List . In the economic miracle revue “Petticoat & Schickedance”, however, the biographies of the Fürth industrialists and politicians Gustav Schickedanz , Ludwig Erhard and Max Grundig are linked. The so far last musical "Der Tunnel" is a dramatization of the bestseller of the same name by Bernhard Kellermann . and was awarded in 2016 by the German Musical Academy in Berlin. In all three musicals Arenz worked with the jazz pianist and composer Thilo Wolf .

Awards

Publications

Poetry

  • Wanderings, 13 poems, illustrated by Margitta Schäfer, Heieroffset, 26 p., 1987

Novels and short stories

Single publications (selection)

  • Nürnberger Tand , in: Bernd Flessner (Ed.), Journeys to the planet Frankonia, Neustadt an der Aisch 2001, ISBN 3-87707-582-7
  • The dream of real life , in Steffen Radlmaier (Ed.), Mein Song, ars vivendi, Cadolzburg 2004, ISBN 3-89716-534-1
  • Book love , in: Dirk Kruse (Ed.), Meine wunderbare Buchhandlung, ars vivendi, Cadolzburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-86913-037-8
  • Key experience , in: Karoline Adler (ed.), Alle Meine Lieben, dtv, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-423-25317-8
  • It should fly high , in: Silvia Schmid (ed.), Why you should never celebrate round birthdays, dtv, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-423-21333-2
  • Death in the Zoo , in: Tatort Franken No.3, ars vivendi, Cadolzburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-86913-118-4
  • Hohe Zeit , in: Karoline Adler (ed.), Urlaubslesebuch, dtv, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-423-21361-5
  • We are waiting for the Christkind , in: Marlene Fritsch (ed.), How the Christkind got into diapers and other unusual Christmas stories, topos, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-8367-0828-9
  • Terrorehe , in: Karoline Adler (Ed.), Urlaubslesebuch, dtv, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-423-21439-1
  • Death at the Opera Ball , in: Tatort Franken No.4, ars vivendi, Cadolzburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-86913-201-3
  • Death in Venice in: Thomas Kastura (Ed.), To die, or not to die, ars vivendi, Cadolzburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-86913-416-1
  • Josef's present in: o. V., Merry Christmas, Benno Verlag, Leipzig 2014, ISBN 978-3-7462-4135-7
  • War of faith in: Karoline Adler (Ed.), Snow-free. The most beautiful winter stories, dtv, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-423-21608-1

Stage works

  • Petticoat & Schickedance, Wirtschaftswunderrevue (premiere in the Stadttheater Fürth on January 12, 2007), music: Thilo Wolf, staging: Steffen Senger
  • Die Odaliske, comedy (world premiere in the Stadttheater Fürth on April 23, 2009), staging: Steffen Senger
  • Clear the path! Musical (premiere in the Stadttheater Fürth on October 15, 2010), music: Thilo Wolf, production: Nilufar Münzing
  • Der Tunnel, musical (premiere in the Stadttheater Fürth on October 16, 2015), music: Thilo Wolf, staging: Jean Renshaw

Literature on and about Ewald Arenz

  • Pöhlein, Georg ea (ed.): Heaven is closer to earth: Franconian literary landscape . 2003, ISBN 978-3-85252-507-5
  • Glaser, Hermann : Franconia - A German literary landscape. Epochs - poets - works . ISBN 978-3-924270-66-7 .
  • Ritzer, Uwe : Longing for the bohemian . In: Roßmann, Robert; Kratzer, Hans (ed.): Stadt, Land, Wort. Bavaria's writers: 22 portraits . ISBN 978-3-89682-088-4 .
  • Stoll, Dieter: self-portrait. Literature in Franconia . Cadolzburg, 1999.

Web links

Commons : Ewald Arenz  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ritzer, Uwe (2004): Longing for Boheme. In: Roßmann, Robert; Kratzer, Hans (ed.): Stadt, Land, Wort. Bavaria's writers: 22 portraits. SüdOst Verlag, Waldkirchen, pp. 77-80.
  2. ↑ Christian Endres: "Arenz ... offers linguistic precision to indulge in". Colon, May 12, 2019
  3. ↑ SPIEGEL bestseller list paperback August 2020
  4. ↑ Stadttheater Fürth, program 2015/16
  5. ↑ Independent Bookstore Week: Shortlist
personal data
SURNAME Arenz, Ewald
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer and teacher
DATE OF BIRTH November 26, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH Nuremberg