Sebastian Ybbs

Sebastian Ybbs (* 1960 in Aachen ) is the pseudonym of a German artist and writer. “Anyone who walks through his rooms cannot be sure whether he is dealing with a sculptor, a philosopher, musician or writer. In fact, Ybbs moves in all of these areas and draws his creativity from the cross-fertilization of all these professions. "

Sebastian Ybbs' fictional novels are all set against a contemporary real background. He penetrates deeply into the soul of his characters and shows that even with significant, even historical events, the individual person with his strengths and weaknesses, which can be recognized especially in private seclusion, plays the all-important role. His protagonists sometimes react profoundly, sometimes succinctly, to their surroundings, sometimes they are the engine, then again they are just observers of the events. In his natural narrative style, Ybbs vacillates between analytical reflections and light-footed considerations.

Ybbs meets Camus

Without knowing him beforehand, Sebastian Ybbs lets his protagonist run into Albert Camus in “Die Gedankentauscher” and finds out how many parallels there are between Camus' oeuvre and this novel. The following enthusiasm for the literary and philosophical work of Camus and his political views resulted in a special affinity. One consequence of this dispute was the initiative to found a German-speaking Albert Camus Society, which he ran together with Jürgen Kippenhan, head of the Aachen Institute for Philosophy and Discourse "LOGOI", and Ybbs was elected President in 2014.

The novels in detail:

"The Demise of Rod U." is a contemporary adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's “The fall of the houses of Usher”, which takes place against the backdrop of a civil war in Europe.

Stranded in a run-down Belgian province, the “hero” in “An Extra Terrestrial in Wallonia” finds himself thrown back on himself. Ybbs' tongue-in-cheek examination of his home region.

“The man in the shadow and the motorcyclist on the ice” describes the encounter between a terrorist and his prisoner up close. The very personal Kammerspiel refers to the events in the German autumn, but remains a timeless fiction.

Oscillating between genius and chaos, the protagonist in “Die Gedankentauscher” sometimes lives in deep seclusion, then he blossoms again in a youthful manner, but always has to deal with political reality. The origin is a situation in which he wants to evade the appropriation by the new anti-democratic government of his country, which fundamentally calls into question his previous frugal life. The novel deals with the current radical populist tendencies in Europe and the struggle for a current concept of democracy. Allusions to the events in the political upheaval in the Arab region only seem to play a minor role.

Publications:

• The Descent of Rod U. 2008, ISBN 978-3-85022-430-7 .
• An alien in Wallonia. Schardt-Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-89841-555-2 .
• The man in the shade and the motorcyclist on the ice. Schardt-Verlag, 2012, ISBN 978-3-89841-643-6 .
• The thought exchangers. Schardt-Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-89841-720-4 .

Web links

• sebastian-ybbs.de