Görlitz (dpa/sn) - The writer Lukas Rietzschel, who lives in Görlitz, has received the Saxon Literature Prize 2022. This "supports an important young author," said Minister of Culture Barbara Klepsch (CDU), according to the announcement on the award ceremony on Thursday evening in the Görlitz Synagogue Culture Forum. "His novels and plays show conflicts that are not easy to resolve and that we must deal with." He makes people aware of the long-term consequences of the far-reaching changes, not just in eastern Germany and not just in rural areas.
The jury praised Rietzschel for having a special nerve for the cracks and fractures that arise as a result of changing political conditions. In his novels and plays he tells of upheavals in the biographies, of insecurities and devastated souls - Upper Lusatia provides him with the backdrop for this.
Rietzschel's first novel "Batch into the world with your fist", in which he tells an explosive family story of losers from the reunification and right-wing extremists, attracted attention in 2018. "This brought a fresh, gripping and direct tone to literature," the jury found. Theater adapted the material for the stage, the film adaptation is in progress. With the play "Resistance" and the novel "Space Driver" he continues his examination of the recent past and present. He is a much sought-after author and also gets involved in current debates with newspaper articles - "an unmistakable, important voice from the East".
Rietzschel was born in Räckelwitz in 1994 and grew up in Kamenz. He studied political science, German and cultural management in Kassel and Zittau/Görlitz. In the coming year he is a fellow at the Villa Aurora in Los Angeles. The literature prize, endowed with 10,000 euros, has been awarded every two years since 2012.
