Mayröcker, Friederike, 1924-2021, German-language poet, b. Vienna, Austria. Mayröcker served in World War II as a secretary in the German airforce and then studied to be an English-language teacher, a position she held from 1946-69. In the mid-'40s, she began contributing works to avant-garde magazines and in the 1950s became a member of the Wiener Gruppe, a collection of local writers influenced by surrealism and other modern movements. In 1954, she met fellow writer Ernst Jandl, and the two became partners in their creative and personal lives. They authored four radio plays together, including “Five Man Humanity” (Kriegsblindenpreis, 1969). In 1969, she retired from teaching to devote herself to writing. Mayröcker’s collected poems encompasses over 1000 works, and her prose fills more than 20 volumes. Her work won numerous awards, including the Georg Büchner Prize (2001), among the highest literary award for German-language writers. She also authored children’s books and displayed her artworks.
See her Raving Language: Selected Poems 1946-2005 (2007).
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