{{Short description|Austrian author (born 1966)}} {{Multiple issues|{{autobiography|date=November 2015}} {{BLP sources|date=November 2015}} }}
thumb|Vladimir Vertlib '''Vladimir Vertlib''', born 2 July 1966 in Leningrad, Russia, immigrated to Austria where he became a writer. His works, revolving around the themes of migration, Judaism, and identity, have been translated to Russian, Czech, Slovenian, and Italian.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vladimir Vertlib|url=http://www.literaturfestival.com/archiv/teilnehmer/autoren/2010/vladimir-vertlib|website=Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin|accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Vladimir Vertlib|url=http://www.literaturnetz.at/salzburg/_60/Vertlib_Vladimir_226.html|website=Literaturnetz.at|accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Biographie|url=https://vladimirvertlib.wordpress.com/about/|website=Vertlib's Website|date=26 March 2012 |accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref>
==Life== Vladimir Vertlib was born on 2 July 1966 in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia). In 1971, at age 5, Vladimir Vertlib immigrated with his parents to Israel. The family’s migration odyssey continued with a move to Austria in 1972, followed by a passing stay in Italy before returning to Austria. In 1975, the family relocated briefly to the Netherlands and then to Israel, and in 1976 – after a sojourn in Rome – they returned to Vienna. In 1980, Vertlib and his parents immigrated to the United States of America; however, detention followed by deportation from the US in 1981 led to the family ultimately settling in Vienna. Vladimir Vertlib became an Austrian citizen in 1986.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Vertlib|first1=Vladimir|title=Spiegel im fremden Wort|date=2007|publisher=Thelem|location=Dresden|isbn=978-3-939888-28-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Schwaiger|first1=Saskia|title=Reise zu meinen Wurzeln|url=http://nunu.at/article/reise-zu-meinen-wurzeln/.|website=NU - Jüdisches Magazin für Politik und Kultur|accessdate=12 November 2015|date=2004}}</ref>
Vertlib studied economics at the University of Vienna from 1984–89, and subsequently found employment as a freelancer for the Japanese press agency "Kyodo News Service." He also worked as a statistician at the Donau Versicherungs AG, and as an analyst at the Österreichische Kontrollbank AG. In 1990, as an alternative to compulsory military service in Austria, he completed his civilian service in a geriatric day care centre. Since 1993, he has been working as a freelance writer, social scientist, and translator in Salzburg and Vienna.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vladimir Vertlib|url=http://www.literaturfestival.com/archiv/teilnehmer/autoren/2010/vladimir-vertlib|website=Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin|accessdate=12 November 2015}}</ref>
==Literary career== His first two novels, ''Abschiebung'' (1995) and ''Zwischenstationen'' (1999) both deal with the partly autobiographical experience of exile, telling the stories of families who are migrating from the Soviet Union to other countries.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vladimir Vertlib|url=http://www.literaturfestival.com/archiv/teilnehmer/autoren/2010/vladimir-vertlib|website=Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin|accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref> Similar to Vertlib`s trail of immigrations, in ''Zwischenstationen'' the family moves from Israel to Italy, followed by moves to Austria, the Netherlands, and the US, before finally settling in Vienna.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Burnett|first1=David|title=Englishing Vladimir Vertlib|url=http://www.wordswithoutborders.org/dispatches/article/englishing-vladimir-vertlib|website=Words without borders|date=22 August 2014 |accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref> Told from the perspective of a child, the novel reflects Vertlib's personal experience with migration: at home in Austria, but not Austrian-born, he based the story on his own feelings as a migrant child.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}} Vertlib`s novel ''Schimons Schweigen'' (2012) was the final episode of the unofficial trilogy revolving around migrant identity and coming to terms with his own odyssey. The protagonist, an Austrian author, travels to Israel, intending to solve the mystery of why his father and his father`s friend Schimon ceased to communicate with each other for 30 years. The novel discusses the issue of displacement and the compromised identity experienced by the protagonist when outside of his homeland as a result of travels between Israel and the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite web|title=Presse usw.|url=https://vladimirvertlib.wordpress.com/presse-usw/|website=Vertlib's Website|date=26 March 2012 |accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Berking|first1=Sabine|title=Gott ist ein Fall für den Staatsanwalt|url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/buecher/rezensionen/belletristik/vladimir-vertlib-schimons-schweigen-gott-ist-ein-fall-fuer-den-staatsanwalt-11802830.html|newspaper=Faz.net|accessdate=10 November 2015|date=28 June 2012}}</ref>
Vertlib's ''Das besondere Gedächtnis der Rosa Masur'' (2001) tells the life story of a 92-year-old Jewish woman who migrated from Leningrad to Germany, and in doing so, covers Russia`s 20th century history: anti-Semitism, communism and war.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stocker|first1=Günther|title=Aus dem Zeitalter der Extreme|url=http://www.lyrikwelt.de/rezensionen/rosamasur-r.htm|website=Lyrikwelt.de|accessdate=10 November 2015|date=2001|archive-date=13 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160613044750/http://www.lyrikwelt.de/rezensionen/rosamasur-r.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Similarly, the anthology ''Mein erster Mörder. Lebensgeschichten.'' (2006) contains life stories and depicts the course of the 20th century. In this instance, the characters featured through three life stories are displaced persons struggling to survive the catastrophes of the century.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Landerl|first1=Peter|title=Vladimir Vertlib: Mein erster Mörder|url=http://www.literaturhaus.at/index.php?id=3160|website=Literaturhaus Wien|accessdate=10 November 2015|date=13 March 2006}}</ref> In ''Am Morgen des zwölften Tages'' (2009), the love story of a German woman and a Muslim man depicts the complicated relationship between Orient and Occident, and between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vladimir Vertlib|url=http://www.literaturfestival.com/archiv/teilnehmer/autoren/2010/vladimir-vertlib|website=Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin|accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref>
Vertlib`s most recent novel, ''Lucia Binar und die russische Seele'' (2015), features an 83-year-old woman and a young student who embark on an exceptional journey through Vienna, attempting to locate a call centre employee. Over the course of their journey, they meet several colorful people, experiencing bizarre phenomena of the Austrian society as well as learning about problematic social and political conditions in Russia.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Heinrich|first1=Katharina|title=Lucia Binar und die russische Seele|url=http://www.wdr5.de/sendungen/buecher/autorimgespraech/vertlib100.html|website=WDR5|accessdate=10 November 2015|archive-date=27 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127045844/http://www.wdr5.de/sendungen/buecher/autorimgespraech/vertlib100.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Zeyringer|first1=Klaus|title=Vladimir Vertlib: Weltgeist in der Mohrengasse|url=http://derstandard.at/2000017710860/Vladimir-Vertlib-Weltgeist-in-der-Mohrengasse|website=derStandard.at|accessdate=19 June 2015}}</ref>
In 1995, he became a member of the editorial board of the Viennese literary journal ''Mit der Ziehharmonika'', which became the ''Zwischenwelt – Zeitschrift für Literatur des Exils und des Widerstands'' in 2000. Vertlib has numerous publications spanning short stories, articles, essays, reports, and reviews in German and Austrian newspapers and magazines. These include Die Presse (Spectrum), Wiener Zeitung (Extra), Rheinischer Merkur, FAZ, and Jüdische Allgemeine, as well as periodicals like Wochen Zeitung Zürich, Literatur und Kritik, and SALZ. He participated in the Klagenfurter Literaturkurs 1998 (International Forum for young writers) and the Festival of German-Language Literature, 1999, in Klagenfurt. He held the Dresdner Chamisso Poetics Lectureship in 2006, wrote the libretto for an oratory from Wolfgang R. Kubizek in 2007, and in 2012–13 worked as a lecturer at the Institute of Language Arts at the University of Applied Arts, Vienna.<ref>{{cite web|title=Biographie|url=https://vladimirvertlib.wordpress.com/about/|website=Vertlib's Website|date=26 March 2012 |accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref>
==Major themes== Most of Vertlib's works draw on his autobiographical experience of migration, and therefore deal with the themes of identity, home, and the trauma of being "uprooted."<ref>{{cite web|title=12. Literaturpreis Adei-Wizo "Adelina Della Pergola" an Vladimir Vertlib|url=http://www.bmeia.gv.at/botschaft/gk-mailand/aktuelles/archiv-2012/12-literaturpreis-adei-wizo-adelina-della-pergola-an-vladimir-vertlib.html|website=Außenministerium Österreichs|accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref> He has stated that due to the migration, he experienced a disrupted childhood and youth. The process of writing helped him deal with the problems of displacement and a compromised sense of belonging, which are paralleled in the lives of his characters.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}} His own identity is not easy to define, evident in reviews that label him "a Russian living in Austria," "a Russian writer," "a Jewish-German writer of Russian descent" and so on. Ultimately, negotiating identity is an important part of Vertlib`s work.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Livnat|first1=Andrea|title=Vladimir Vertlib: Spiegel im fremden Wort|url=http://buecher.hagalil.com/sonstiges/vertlib.htm|website=haGalil.com|accessdate=10 November 2015|date=6 November 2007}}</ref>
Furthermore, Vertlib's works deal with Judaism and the experience of being a Jewish migrant, capturing the collective history of Russian Jews in the 20th century through stories of individual characters. These examples – composed of true experiences and fiction – are intended to mirror the reader`s own feelings and experiences.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vladimir Vertlib|url=http://www.literaturfestival.com/archiv/teilnehmer/autoren/2010/vladimir-vertlib|website=Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin|accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref> Culture is another major theme in Vertlib`s works. Stating he has internalized the Russian, Jewish, and Austrian culture, he found his identity in a space between the cultures.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Schobel|first1=Eva|title=Berührungsangst|url=http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/beruehrungsangst.700.de.html?dram:article_id=84450|website=Deutschlandfunk|accessdate=10 November 2015|date=15 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Eder|first1=Christa|title=Schriftsteller Vladimir Vertlib über die russische Seele|url=http://oe1.orf.at/programm/399857|website=ORF.at|accessdate=10 November 2015|date=20 March 2015}}</ref> Viewed through Edward Said`s perspective, Vertlib`s works show that cultures might be separated by social and political circumstances, but are not mutually antagonistic per se.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Schobel|first1=Eva|title=Berührungsangst|url=http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/beruehrungsangst.700.de.html?dram:article_id=84450|website=Deutschlandfunk|accessdate=10 November 2015|date=15 February 2010}}</ref>
==Literary style== Vertlib's writing has been described as sophisticated and provocative with an elaborated narrative structure. His prosaic and precise language is full of irony, depicting tragicomic experiences.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Riedel|first1=Frank|title=Eine Reise ins Tantenland|url=http://www.literaturkritik.de/public/rezension.php?rez_id=16842|website=literaturkritik.de|accessdate=10 November 2015|date=4 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Stocker|first1=Günther|title=Aus dem Zeitalter der Extreme|url=http://www.lyrikwelt.de/rezensionen/rosamasur-r.htm|website=Lyrikwelt.de|accessdate=10 November 2015|date=2001|archive-date=13 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160613044750/http://www.lyrikwelt.de/rezensionen/rosamasur-r.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> He has stated that, for him, finding humour in tragedy has a relieving effect, indicating the significance of irony in his work.<ref>{{cite web|title=Interview mit dem jüdischen Autor Vladimir Vertlib: Zunächst etwas Handfestes gelernt|url=http://www.rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/rhein-kreis/zunaechst-etwas-handfestes-gelernt-aid-1.299902|accessdate=10 November 2015|date=28 May 2002}}</ref> Critics praised Vertlib`s works as thrilling as well as entertaining, comparing him to notable authors John Irving, Joseph Roth, and Isaak Singer.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Röntgen|first1=Hans Peter|title=Zwischenstationen|url=http://www.literatur-fast-pur.de/HP/3zwischenstationen.html|website=Literatur fast pur|accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Kissler|first1=Alexander|title=Miss Jahrhundert|url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/buecher/rezensionen/belletristik/rezension-belletristik-miss-jahrhundert-124718.html|newspaper=Faz.net|accessdate=10 November 2015|date=23 June 2001}}</ref>
==Awards and nominations== * 2000 Österreichischer Förderungspreis für Literatur<ref>{{cite web|title=Biographie|url=https://vladimirvertlib.wordpress.com/about/|website=Vertlib's Website|date=26 March 2012 |accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref> * 2001 Förderpreis zum Adelbert-von-Chamisso-Preis<ref>{{cite web|title=Vladimir Vertlib|url=http://www.bosch-stiftung.de/content/language1/html/14814.asp|website=Robert Bosch Stiftung|accessdate=10 November 2015|archive-date=25 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225082238/http://www.bosch-stiftung.de/content/language1/html/14814.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref> * 2001 Anton-Wildgans-Preis<ref>{{cite web|title=Biographie|url=https://vladimirvertlib.wordpress.com/about/|website=Vertlib's Website|date=26 March 2012 |accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref> * 2006 Dresdner Chamisso-Poetikdozentur<ref>{{cite web|title=Biographie|url=https://vladimirvertlib.wordpress.com/about/|website=Vertlib's Website|date=26 March 2012 |accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref> * 2012 Adei-Wizo Literature Award Adelina Della Pergola for ''Zwischenstationen''<ref>{{cite web|title=12. Literaturpreis Adei-Wizo "Adelina Della Pergola" an Vladimir Vertlib|url=http://www.bmeia.gv.at/botschaft/gk-mailand/aktuelles/archiv-2012/12-literaturpreis-adei-wizo-adelina-della-pergola-an-vladimir-vertlib.html|website=Außenministerium Österreichs|accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref> * 2015 Longlist German Book Award for ''Lucia Binar und die russische Seele''<ref>{{cite web|title=Longlist 2015|url=http://www.deutscher-buchpreis.de/archiv/jahr/2015/#tab-longlist|website=Deutscher Buchpreis|accessdate=10 November 2015}}</ref>
==Works== Source:<ref>{{cite web|title=Vladimir Vertlib|url=https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?query=%22121112861%22&method=simpleSearch&cqlMode=true|website=Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek|accessdate=17 November 2015}}</ref> * ''Osteuropäische Zuwanderung nach Österreich (1976–1991). Unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der jüdischen Immigration aus der ehemaligen Sowjetunion.'' Wien: Institut für Demographie, 1995. * ''Abschiebung.'' Salzburg: Müller, 1995. {{ISBN|3-7013-0902-7}} * ''Zwischenstationen.'' Wien: Deuticke, 1999. {{ISBN|3-216-30455-8}} * ''Das besondere Gedächtnis der Rosa Masur.'' Wien: Deuticke, 2001. {{ISBN|3-216-30583-X}} * ''Letzter Wunsch.'' Wien, Deuticke, 2003. {{ISBN|3-216-30678-X}} * ''Mein erster Mörder: Lebensgeschichten.'' Wien: Deuticke, 2006. {{ISBN|978-3-552-06031-9}} * ''Spiegel im fremden Wort. Die Erfindung des Lebens als Literatur.'' Dresden: Thelem, 2007. {{ISBN|978-3-939888-28-4}} * ''Vmesne postaje.'' Ljubljana: Modrijan, 2008. {{ISBN|978-961-241-195-4}} * ''Am Morgen des zwölften Tages.'' Wien: Deuticke, 2009. {{ISBN|978-3-552-06097-5}} * ''Ich und die Eingeborenen: Essays und Aufsätze.'' Dresden: Thelem, 2012. {{ISBN|978-3-939888-82-6}} * ''Schimons Schweigen.'' Wien: Deuticke, 2012. {{ISBN|978-3-552-06184-2}} * ''Lucia Binar und die russische Seele.'' Wien: Deuticke, 2015. {{ISBN|978-3-552-06282-5}} * ''Reise nach A.'' Hamburg: Literatur-Quickie, 2019. {{ISBN| 978-3-945453-57-5}} * ''Zebra im Krieg.'' Salzburg: Residenz, 2022. {{ISBN| 978-3-701-71752-1}}
==References== {{reflist|2}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vertlib, Vladimir}} Category:Austrian male writers Category:Russian male writers Category:Living people Category:1966 births Category:Writers from Saint Petersburg Category:Russian emigrants to Israel