W. G. Sebald facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
W. G. Sebald
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| Born | Winfried Georg Sebald 18 May 1944 Wertach, Gau Swabia, Germany |
| Died | 14 December 2001 (aged 57) Norfolk, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Writer, academic |
| Language | German |
| Nationality | German |
| Alma mater | University of Freiburg University of Fribourg University of East Anglia (PhD) |
| Notable works | Vertigo The Emigrants The Rings of Saturn Austerlitz |
Winfried Georg Sebald (born May 18, 1944 – died December 14, 2001) was a famous German writer and professor. He was often called W. G. Sebald or even Max Sebald. Many people thought he was one of the best writers alive when he passed away at 57.
Contents
About W. G. Sebald's Life
Early Life and Family
W. G. Sebald was born in a town called Wertach in Bavaria, Germany. He was one of three children born to Rosa and Georg Sebald. From 1948 to 1963, he lived in Sonthofen. His father was a soldier and was a prisoner of war until 1947. His grandfather was a very important person in his early life.
When Sebald was in school, he saw pictures of the Holocaust. He remembered that no one knew how to explain what they had seen. The Holocaust and what happened in Germany after the war became very important topics in his books.
Education and Career
Sebald studied German and English literature. He went to the University of Freiburg in Germany and then the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. He earned his degree in 1965.
From 1966 to 1969, he worked as a teacher at the University of Manchester in England. He then moved back to Switzerland for a year, hoping to teach, but he did not settle there. Sebald married his wife, Ute, in 1967.
In 1970, he started teaching at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in England. He earned his PhD there in 1973. Later, in 1987, he became a professor of European literature at UEA. He also helped start the British Centre for Literary Translation in 1989. This center helps translate books from other languages into English.
His Final Years
Sebald lived in England for many years. He passed away in December 2001 while driving near Norwich. Doctors found that he had a sudden medical problem called an aneurysm. He died from this before his car crashed. His daughter, Anna, was with him and survived the crash. He is buried in a churchyard in Framingham Earl, close to where he lived.
In 2011, a movie called Patience (After Sebald) was made about him. It shows his journey through the landscapes of East Anglia, which inspired some of his writing.
W. G. Sebald's Books and Writing Style
Main Themes in His Work
Sebald's books often explore ideas about memory and forgetting things. He wrote about how people remember or lose memories, both personally and as a group. He also wrote about things falling apart, like old traditions or buildings.
A big part of his writing was about the Second World War and how it affected the German people. In his book On the Natural History of Destruction, he wrote about the bombing of German cities during the war. He also wrote about the Holocaust in several books, exploring his own family's connections to Jewish people.
His Unique Writing Style
Sebald's novels are very special and different. He wrote in an older, more detailed German style. Some of his sentences are very long, like one in Austerlitz that is nine pages long! He worked closely with the people who translated his books into English to make sure they sounded just right.
His most famous novels include Vertigo, The Emigrants, The Rings of Saturn, and Austerlitz. These books mix facts, memories, and made-up stories. They often include blurry black-and-white photographs. These pictures don't just show what's happening; they add to the feeling of the story. His novels often feel like observations and thoughts he had while traveling around Europe. They also have a quiet, funny side.
Poetry Books
Besides novels, Sebald also wrote three books of poetry:
- For Years Now (2001)
- After Nature (1988)
- Unrecounted (2004)
List of W. G. Sebald's Works
- 1988 After Nature. (Nach der Natur. Ein Elementargedicht) English ed. 2002
- 1990 Vertigo. (Schwindel. Gefühle) English ed. 1999
- 1992 The Emigrants. (Die Ausgewanderten. Vier lange Erzählungen) English ed. 1996
- 1995 The Rings of Saturn. (Die Ringe des Saturn. Eine englische Wallfahrt) English ed. 1998
- 1998 A Place in the Country. (Logis in einem Landhaus.) English ed. 2013
- 1999 On the Natural History of Destruction. (Luftkrieg und Literatur: Mit einem Essay zu Alfred Andersch) English ed. 2003
- 2001 Austerlitz. (Austerlitz)
- 2001 For Years Now.
- 2003 Unrecounted (Unerzählt, 33 Texte) English ed. 2004
- 2003 Campo Santo (Campo Santo, Prosa, Essays) English ed. 2005
- 2008 Across the Land and the Water: Selected Poems, 1964–2001. (Über das Land und das Wasser. Ausgewählte Gedichte 1964–2001.) English ed. 2012
Writers Who Influenced Sebald
Sebald was inspired by other writers. The works of Jorge Luis Borges, especially his stories "The Garden of Forking Paths" and "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius", were very important to Sebald. You can even find references to Tlön and Uqbar in Sebald's book The Rings of Saturn.
Sebald also said that the Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard was a big influence on him. He also honored Franz Kafka and Vladimir Nabokov in his own books. For example, a character like Nabokov appears in all four parts of The Emigrants.
Awards and Recognition
W. G. Sebald was considered so talented that many people thought he might win the Nobel Prize in Literature. In 2007, a former secretary of the Swedish Academy (the group that gives out the Nobel Prize) mentioned Sebald as one of three writers who had recently passed away but would have deserved the award.
See also
In Spanish: W. G. Sebald para niños
