Piedad Bonnett was born in Amalfi, in the Colombian province of Antioquia, in 1951. She grew up in the capital Bogotá as of the age of eight and studied philosophy and philology at the Universidad de los Andes and later at the Escuela de Investigación Lingüística y Literaria in Madrid.
Peter Schneider was born in Lübeck in 1940 and grew up in Freiburg, where he began his studies in German language, history and philosophy. He completed his education in Berlin. He wrote speeches for SPD politicians during the Bundestag election campaign in 1965. Schneider quickly found a role as one
Patrizia Cavalli was born in Todi, Umbria. In 1968 she moved to Rome where she studied philosophy, graduating with a dissertation on the aesthetics of music. She was supported in her poetry, to which she applied herself only occasionally and hesitantly, by Elsa Morante, one of the most important figures
Paul Holdengräber studied comparative literature in Belgium and received a Ph.D. from Princeton University. He has taught at numerous universities and has received several grants and prizes for his work – among them, he was named a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. Holdengräber founded and directed the Institute for
The poet Paul Muldoon was born in Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland in 1951 and grew up in the rural region of the Moy. He studied English language and literature at Queen’s University in Belfast, where he later worked for the BBC, pr oducing mostly radio broadcasts before moving on
Ottó Kiss was born in Battonya, Hungary in 1963. He studied media studies and journalism and since 1992 has been working as editor and writer for various newspapers, including »Bárka« and »Elet és Irodalom«. His literary work has appeared in several countries, and his volume of poems »Csillagszedö Márió« (2002;
Oral Çalişlar was born in Tarsus in 1946. He studied political theory and was among the intellectual leaders of the movement of 68. In 1971 he was sentenced to prison for three years because of his political activities and in 1980 to four years. He has been a columnist for
Ornela Vorpsi was born in Tirana in 1968. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts there and in 1989 relocated to Italy, where she continued her studies at the Accademia di belle Arti di Brera in Milan. In 1997 she graduated from the Université Paris VIII and since then
Orsolya Karafiath was born in Budapest in 1976. She is an internationally successful, prize-winning poet and participated in her first slam in 2006 where she described herself as »not a real slam poet«, but presented an inspiring performance. She was editor of »Crete School Magazine«, and writes for various magazines,
Oscar Hijuelos was born in New York in 1951, the son of Cuban immigrants. He grew up with Spanish as his mother tongue and learnt English during a year in hospital when he was pre-school age. English was to become the active language for his work. He studied English language
Omar Akbar Omar Akbar has been one of the most influential hosts of the “Reflections” programme of the international literature festival berlin since 2007. He has focused on the literary exploration of big cities and metropolises, and their specific urban character. In his series Urban Worlds – World Cities he
Nikolaus Heidelbach, author and illustrator, was born in Lahnstein am Rhein in 1955. He studied German language and literature, art history and theatre studies in Cologne and Berlin. While still a student he made his literary début with an illustrated work for adults and in 1982 published his first book
