Wilhelm Hengstler
Born on January 3, 1944 in Graz; after graduating from high school in 1963, he studied law at the Karl-Franzens-University of Graz, graduating in 1969. While still a student, Hengstler appeared at the Forum Stadtpark, whose film department he later headed; his first reading of a publication in the "manuskripten" in 1966 was introduced by Peter Handke. In the meantime, Hengstler worked as a teacher, trainee judge and assistant at the Institute for Labor and Social Law at the University of Graz and completed several postgraduate studies in Graz and Vienna before working as a film director (including "Fegefeuer", 1989, based on the novel by Jack Unterweger; "Tief oben", 1995; "Hanns durch die Zeit", 2007, as well as several documentaries), writer, cultural journalist and critic. In addition to his literary work, Hengstler wrote literary, theater and film reviews for the "Kronen Zeitung", the "Volksstimme", the "Presse" and the "Kleine Zeitung" as well as essays and theoretical works on film history from the 1970s onwards. In addition to plays and radio plays, Hengstler's literary work includes the prose volume "Die letzte Premiere", published by Suhrkamp Verlag in 1987, the novella "fare" (Droschl 2003), the prose poem "Pisco sour" (Sonderzahl 2012) and the double autobiographical travelogue "flussabwärts, flussabwärts" (Droschl 2015). Hengstler has received numerous awards for his literary and cinematic work, including the Theodor Körner Prize (1972), the Literature Promotion Prize (1977) and the Literature Scholarship (2006) from the City of Graz, the Viennale Prize (1989), the manuskripte Prize (2004) and the State Scholarship for Literature (2013).
Bequest portfolio
Scope: 31 boxes, 3 folders, 2 binders
Contents:
Works, correspondence, life documents, collections.
The estate includes material on Hengstler's book publications, essays and reviews as well as partly unpublished poetry and prose - from early texts from the 1960s to the "Slow Motion" project and publications from the 2010s. In addition to extensive material on the films, their production and reception, there are concepts and exposés on unrealized film projects and cultural projects. Hengstler's active role in the literary and cultural scene is reflected in bundles of texts by and about friends and acquaintances, on readings and projects of the Graz Authors' Assembly as well as joint works and events. In addition to the author's correspondence, comprising several folders, with Günter Eichberger, Alfred Kolleritsch, Peter Handke, Gerhard Roth and Jack Unterweger, among others, the estate contains numerous notebooks with collections of ideas, drafts, sketches and diary-like notes.
Degree of processing: The collection is roughly organized, a table of contents is available.
Call number: FNI-HENGSTLER
Acquisition: Acquisition by the Literaturhaus Graz 2021