Thor Kunkel

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Thor Kunkel (2019)
Thor Kunkel (2019)

Thor Kunkel (born September 2, 1963 in Frankfurt am Main ) is a German writer and freelance PR consultant. In 2004, his controversial novel Endstufe sparked a debate in the feature pages of several newspapers.

biography

Kunkel grew up in Frankfurt's Gallusviertel . After graduating from the Goethe-Gymnasium , he briefly studied with Thomas Bayrle at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main. He then took a course in "Creative Script Writing" in San Francisco , came back to Germany and worked temporarily in the advertising industry. After completing his studies, he lived in London for five years and in Amsterdam for more than ten years . During this time he worked for major international advertising agencies, including Young & Rubicam and Leo Burnett . In 1999 he was one of the participants in the competition for the Klagenfurt Ingeborg Bachmann Prize , which he narrowly missed and won the Ernst Willner Prize with a chapter from his first novel The Black Light Terrarium . The 640 page long novel was already a few weeks after its publication as the "German answer to Pulp Fiction" ( Die Woche ). The feature section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung selected the novel in March 2002 as one of the “25 most effective German books of the last 20 years”.

His novel Subs was filmed by director Oskar Roehler under the title HERRliche Zeiten - with Katja Riemann and Oliver Masucci in the leading roles. Arte's Metropolis program dedicated a contribution to the novel. A radio feature about subs was broadcast by Deutschlandfunk. In addition to his writing activities, Kunkel advises under the name KunkelBakker Creative Communications in the field of public relations, marketing and communication. According to Lürzer's archive , he has advised companies such as Coca-Cola, Dommelsch Bier Levis and Ford-Europe as well as the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. He was also involved in the campaign of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party for the 2017 federal election in an advisory capacity and was "as creative head in the party's campaign team". He was also involved in the AfD election campaign for the 2019 European elections . According to his own statement, he worked as a poster maker for the Greens in Frankfurt am Main during his studies.

Thor Kunkel lives in Switzerland today .

Literary work

Thor Kunkel's debut novel Das Schwarzlicht-Terrarium - awarded the Ernst Willner Prize in 1999 - layers a variety of tragic-comic stories about drug experiments, disco and the American Dream imported by GIs of the US Army in the historical reality of the 1970s . In the dialogues of the protagonists, everyday Hessian jargon is merged with GI slang to create a highly literary gutter language. Referring to the first novel, Martin Walser wrote appreciatively: "The author seems to be obsessed with naming, a disgusting virtuoso, a master stimulant, a sex fundamentalist."

Kunkel's second novel A Letter to Hanny Porter is also a dialogue-heavy reflection between four people on the “American dream”. The NDR compared the novel with a "Brecht'schen didactic play". After a play version by the Leipziger Schauspielhaus in 2002, the novel set in Hawaii was produced by MDR as a radio play with Andrea Sawatzki in a leading role.

Kunkel's third novel Endstufe , funded with a grant from the Prussian Sea Trade Foundation , was already discussed controversially in the international press before the official publication date. The publication led to a violent scandal and a permanent rift between the author and the features section. On April 15, 2004, Iris Radisch called the novel “the avant-garde of the biotechnical age. The Berlin banana republic in Nazi design. ”The FAZ journalist Dirk Schümer, on the other hand, found on May 12, 2004 in the SWR program Büchertalk :“ Kunkel's provocation consists in the fact that the Third Reich is portrayed from an internal perspective. That means the people who describe this to us are Nazis. [...] I read this book with great pleasure in a very short time and found it a monstrous, horror film-like inner perspective of a system that is otherwise only described from the perspective of the victims. "

In 2007, Kunkel's fourth novel Kuhls Kosmos was published . Volker Weidermann called the novel “sensationally funny” in the FAS. The doctor singer Bela B. also commented publicly on Kunkel's new novel: “I've rarely felt so bad.” Kuhl's cosmos describes the dark side of disco culture and locates its beginnings in the criminal red light district. Frankfurt DJ Sven Väth also spoke about these beginnings in the Süddeutsche. April 14, 2002: "You have to imagine it like in Thor Kunkel's Frankfurt novel 'Das Schwarzlicht-Terrarium', very semi-silky, sexy and proletarian."

In 2007, Kunkel was asked about his life as a writer in the television series Willkommen in Österreich (ORF).

In 2010 the utopian grotesque foam sister followed , in which Kunkel describes the plot of cybernetic organisms. The taz praised the novel and called it "compressed and reserved"

From a radio play Subs written for WDR in 2009 , Kunkel developed the novel of the same name, which was published in 2011. In the novel, Kunkel describes the return of slavery in private. A progressively thinking couple decided to settle “Balkan people” (meaning refugees) on their property in Berlin. The Austrian Standard wrote on June 3, 2011: "Thor Kunkel is and will remain the German grandmaster of trash." It was once said by Ovid. Thor Kunkel counters this: Investigate the beginnings! ”The mirror of December 12, 2011 evaluated this statement as both a“ accolade and a declaration of honor ”.

In the memoir Wanderful - My New Life in the Mountains , published in 2014, Kunkel describes two years of his life in the Valais Alps. The text is a mixture of autobiographical vignettes and nature-philosophical essays that unfold in the context of a high-alpine hiking guide. The April 2014 magazine Cicero No. 4 described Kunkel as "the last outlaw in German literature."

In addition to his literary work, Thor Kunkel is increasingly active as a director in the international language area. Kunkel spent the spring of 2015 as writer in residence on Monte Verità in Ticino, where his philosophical treatise Mir blooms a quiet garden was created. The book was published in 2016.

Kunkel's contributions to the debate have appeared in media such as the Financial Times Deutschland , the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , the Junge Freiheit , Journalistenwatch and Sezession .

Dispute over power amplifier

Shortly before the start of printing in the spring of 2004, Rowohlt Verlag stopped working with Kunkel. The publisher Alexander Fest justified this briefly with differences in content and aesthetic issues . Thereupon final stage appeared a few months later at Eichborn . The novel offers "a monstrous, horror-film-like internal perspective of a system that is otherwise only portrayed from the perspective of the victims." ( Büchertalk , SWR , May 12, 2004) The common thread of the fictional plot remains the trade in pornographic films, that of Employees of the "SS Hygiene Institute Berlin" in North Africa. Although the so-called Sachsenwald films are part of the collection of the renowned media expert Werner Nekes , the authenticity of these films was at times questioned, then confirmed again.

Rowohlt's rejection led to a discussion in many German-language newspapers and magazines. While opinions diverged on the question of whether Rowohlt's step was justified, the novel itself was sharply criticized in most of the media. Opinions differed widely about the quality of the text. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung called the novel a “brilliantly written, extremely interesting manuscript by one of the best German authors of the younger generation.” A “deeply cynical attempt” to exorcise the horrors of German history “with a wild disgust and at the same time through the broad To paint over allied crimes ”, judged the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . Luke Harding wrote in The Guardian : "He is one of Germany's hottest young novelists."

Works

Thor Kunkel's novel licenses were sold in the following countries: Italy, the Czech Republic and Turkey.

Radio plays

  • A letter to Hanny Porter ( MDR , 2001) (editing: Steffen Moratz)
  • Dilapidated object No. 1 ( Deutschlandradio Kultur , 2005)
  • Subs ( WDR , 2009)
  • An adventurous story (Excl. Mercedes audio book, 2014)

Short stories and short stories

  • Residual light. In: A. Enderlein (Ed.): Christmas and other catastrophes. Ullstein Tb, 1998, ISBN 3-548-24493-9 .
  • The double life of the amoeba. In: Robert Schindel (Hrsg.): Klagenfurter Texte, Ingeborg Bachmann Competition 1999. Piper, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-492-04161-2 .
  • The measure of all things. In: Send new world. Ullstein Taschenbuch Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-548-24625-7 .
  • The traffic light theory. Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek 2000, ISBN 3-499-22669-3 .
  • Freezing points. In: Ice Age - 25 authors shiver from the cold. Structure Verlag, 2000, ISBN 3-7466-1631-X .
  • Messages to the metabolism. In: Annika - 33 stories by German authors. Schneekluth, 2002, ISBN 3-7951-1814-X .
  • The entomological feast. In: Just no semolina on Christmas Eve. 2010, ISBN 978-3-550-08831-5 .
  • Scrupulous and trombonists. In: Bunter Staub - Ernst Jünger in the backlight. Matthes & Seitz, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-88221-725-4 .
  • Biology lesson. In: Final Words - The Best Submissions to the Agatha Christie Prize. Scherz Verlag, 2003, ISBN 3-502-51957-9 .

Essays

  • Preface. In: Angelo Petrella: Nazi Paradise. PulpMaster Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-927734-43-2 .
  • Quo vadis, German Sackabski? In: Akif Pirinçci , Andreas Lombard (ed.): Attack on the mainstream. Manuscriptum Verlag, 2014, ISBN 978-3-944872-09-4 .
  • Occupy the feature sections! In: Cover magazine. 2011.
  • Fateful club morale. In: Cover magazine. 2013.
  • Heroes for the money. In: Cover magazine. 2012,

Secondary literature and propaedeutics

  • Ingo Irsigler: “In Porno veritas. Amen". On the forms and functions of pornography in Charlotte Roche and Thor Kunkel. In: Hans-Edwin Friedrich, Sven Hanuschek, Christoph Rauen (eds.): Pornography in German literature: texts, topics, institutions . Belleville, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-946875-01-7 , pp. 167-183.
  • Dagmar Herzog: Sex after Fascism: Memory and Morality in Twentieth-Century-Germany. Princeton University, Princeton / Oxford 2005, ISBN 0-691-11702-0 .
  • Peter McIssac: Dystopian Visions in Thor Kunkel's final stage. In: Visions of Tomorrow: Science and Utopia in German Culture. ISSEI, Helsinki 2008, ISBN 978-3-89487-613-5 , pp. 34-43.
  • Julia Garraio: Porn, rape and the fall of the Third Reich: Thor Kunkel's Endstufe. In: Isabella Capeloa Gil, Adriana Martins (ed.): Plots of war: Modern Narratives of Conflict (= Culture & Conflict. 2). Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / Boston 2012, ISBN 978-3-11-028304-4 .
  • Stuart Taebner (Ed.): Contemporary German Fiction: Writing in the German Republic. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge / New York et al. 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-86078-9 .
  • Katrien Jacobs: Netporn: DIY web culture and sexual politics. Chapter 4: "Eros in Times of War". Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham 2007, ISBN 978-0-7425-5431-3 , or ISBN 978-0-7425-5432-0 .
  • Franz Trautmann: Nazikiffer: A Central European coming to terms with the past . Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-7325-6 .
  • Frank Bösch, Constantin Goschler (Hrsg.): Public History: Public representations of National Socialism beyond historical science . Campus Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-593-38863-2 .
  • Christian Schertz, Thomas Schuler (ed.): Character assassination and media victims: The violation of personal honor . Ch. Links Verlag, Belin 2007, ISBN 978-3-86153-424-2 .

Awards (selection)

as a writer

  • Ernst Willner Prize / Ingeborg Bachmann Reading Competition 2nd place (1999)
  • Nomination for Best Radio Play, Category: Best Entertainment (2002)
  • Prussian Sea Trade Scholarship (2003)
  • Residence grant from Sylt-Quelle (2004)
  • Authors' grant from the Berlin Senate Administration (2005)
  • Nominations for the Kurt Lasswitz Prize + German Science Fiction Prize (2006)

As a director
During his "industrial activity" as a "TV Art Director" and a commercial film director, Kunkel received the following awards:

  • NY Film Festival
  • ADCN Award (Silver Lamp)
  • Cannes Lion (Poster Award) 1994
  • Clio
  • Creative Circle
  • Creston
  • Cyber ​​Lion
  • D&AD, DMSA
  • Art Directors Club New York
  • Graphis poster
  • Epica
  • Eurobest (four times)
  • London International Advertising Festival

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thor Kunkel: The black light terrarium, 2000 - Hope lives in Cameroon, Hesse . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, No. 11 of March 17, 2002
  2. ↑ Glorious Times. In: filmreporter.de. Retrieved March 17, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Alexander Kissler : Oskar Roehler and Thor Kunkel - "Just not be comfortable" . ( Memento of the original from July 12, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Cicero Online , November 11, 2013, accessed June 25, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / cicero.de
  4. ↑ Carola Wittrock: The new novel "Subs" by Thor Kunkel. arte , June 30, 2011, archived from the original on October 19, 2014 ; Retrieved June 25, 2017 .
  5. ↑ Knut Cordsen: gloomy future design: Thor Kunkel: "Subs" . DeutschlandRadio-Kultur broadcast “Buchkritik”, May 27, 2011, accessed on June 25, 2017.
  6. ↑ Agency website Kunkelbakker, accessed on 25 June 2017th
  7. ↑ Coca Cola. In: Luerzer's Int'l Archive. Retrieved March 17, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Dommelsch. In: Luerzer's Int'l Archive. Retrieved March 17, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Thomas Schmelzer: Thor Kunkel Controversial author advises AfD in the election campaign . WirtschaftsWoche , April 20, 2017, accessed on June 25, 2017.
  10. ↑ The situation on Thursday: Dear reader . In: Spiegel Online . April 25, 2019 ( spiegel.de [accessed April 26, 2019]).
  11. ↑ In an interview with Markus Gärnter on Youtube on 2.5.2020, minute 11:20 pm, accessed on 3.5.2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOV0U4tU000}
  12. ↑ Martin Walser: walser about kunkel - chemical poet. In: taz. the daily newspaper. April 25, 2001, Retrieved September 10, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Melanie Amann: election advertising - The scandal author and the AfD . In: Der Spiegel . No. 25 , 2017 ( online [accessed September 18, 2019]).
  14. ↑ dpa : Horror instead of holiday idyll - “Porter's Paradise” premiered . In: Hamburger Morgenpost . January 17, 2002, accessed June 24, 2017.
  15. ↑ MDR Figaro: A letter to Hanny Porter (from Thor Kunkel). Schwarzer-Abt.de, January 7, 2007, archived from the original on October 9, 2015 ; accessed on June 24, 2017 .
  16. ↑ Iris Radisch : Roman: Oh, you iron dick . In: Zeit Online . April 15, 2004, accessed June 24, 2017.
  17. ↑ Volker Weidermann : Glitzernder Kosmos: Thor Kunkels weapon novel about the end of the 70s . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . September 14, 2008, accessed June 24, 2017.
  18. ↑ Elias Kreuzmair: Novel "Foam Sisters": Desires of older men . taz , August 6, 2010, accessed June 24, 2017.
  19. ↑ Christian Schachinger: The country needs new slaves . derStandard.at , June 3, 2011, accessed June 24, 2017.
  20. ↑ Literature: Slaves wanted . In: Der Spiegel . 50/2011, December 12, 2011, p. 124, accessed June 24, 2017.
  21. ↑ Ed Meza: Germany's Syrreal Jumps Into Genre Game With Sci-Fi 'Sum1' . Variety , April 7, 2015, accessed June 24, 2017.
  22. ↑ Thor Kunkel - I am blooming a quiet garden. Ticino Tourism, 2016, archived from the original on June 6, 2016 ; accessed on June 24, 2017 .
  23. ↑ Thor Kunkel: Literature Competition: Klagenfurt: “Only the lobby fails miserably” faz.net , June 29, 2001, accessed on June 25, 2017.
  24. ↑ Search results for: thor kunkel jungefreiheit.de, accessed on June 25, 2017.
  25. ↑ Thor Kunkel: What the heck! journalistenwatch.com, accessed July 8, 2017.
  26. ↑ Cologne and the German men ( Memento of the original from August 31, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. sezession.de , January 7, 2016, accessed June 25, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / sezession.de
  27. ↑ Marius Meller: Germany, some porn country. In: Der Tagesspiegel , April 15, 2004, accessed on June 28, 2017.
  28. ↑ Volker Weidermann: The naked and the dead. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung , February 2, 2004, accessed on June 28, 2017.
  29. ↑ Richard Kämmerlings: A disgusting dance - not a matter of taste: Thor Kunkel's novel "Endstufe". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung via buecher.de , April 3, 2004, archived from the original on September 30, 2007 ; accessed on June 28, 2017 .
  30. ↑ Luke Harding: Porn and Drang. In: The Guardian, February 12, 2004, accessed June 28, 2017.
  31. ↑ Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class: Thor Kunkel - the author of the GLA audio book adventure. In: Daimler. Retrieved March 17, 2018 .
  32. ^ Occupy the features! ( Memento of the original from November 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Cover culture magazine , November 30, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / titelmagazin.com
  33. ↑ Fateful club morale . Cover culture magazine , August 26, 2013.
  34. ↑ Heroes for the Money . ( Memento of the original from November 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Cover culture magazine , February 1, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / titelmagazin.com
personal data
SURNAME Kunkel, Thor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd September 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH Frankfurt am Main