Nicholas Ofczarek & Tamara Metelka: Thomas Bernhard – Meine Preise

No writer in Austria in the second half of the 20th century polarized as much as Thomas Bernhard (1931-1989). Linguistically powerful, uncompromising and always ready for scandal, he held up a mirror to his country and the cultural establishment, as relentlessly as he was amusing, and was celebrated for it and translated into more than 40 languages. In his autobiographical prose work »Meine Preise« Bernhard draws a satirical and ironic tally of the awards bestowed upon him, and of the grotesque rituals of their presentation. The funniest and sharpest chapter of this book is devoted to the scandal surrounding the Austrian State Prize of 1968, and it went down in literary history.