Peter Handke

Peter Handke (German: [ˈhantkə]; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrian-born novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director and screenwriter. In the late 1960s, he was recognized for works such as the play Publikumsbeschimpfung (Offending the Audience) and the novel Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter (The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick). Prompted by his mother's suicide in 1971, he reflected her life in the novel Wunschloses Unglück (A Sorrow Beyond Dreams). Handke was a member of the Grazer Gruppe (an association of authors) and the Grazer Autorenversammlung, and co-founded the Verlag der Autoren publishing house in Frankfurt. He collaborated with director Wim Wenders, leading to screenplays such as Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of Desire). Handke holds various highly controversial positions on matters such as the Yugoslav Wars. Handke has received many awards, including the 1973 Georg Büchner Prize, the 2018 Austrian Nestroy Theatre Prize for Lifetime Achievement, and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2019.