The Georg Büchner Prize was first established during the Weimar Republic by the State of Hesse. Its purpose was to recognise writers, artists, actors and singers. It was first awarded in 1923 in the state capital, Darmstadt.
Since 1951 the new Büchner Prize has been awarded annually by the German Academy for Language and Literature. According to the charter of the Academy, it is given to authors »writing in the German language whose work is considered especially meritorious and who have made a significant contribution to contemporary German culture.«
The prize is awarded at a ceremony held during the autumn conference of the German Academy in Darmstadt.
The prize currently comes with an award of €50,000.
Poet
Born 3/9/1911
Deceased 15/6/1979
Member since 1974
... ein Äußerstes an existentieller Dringlichkeit und an poetischer Leuchtkraft...
Jury members
Juryvorsitz: Peter de Mendelssohn
Karl Krolow, Manfred Ranft (Hessisches Kultusministerium), Horst Rüdiger, Heinz Winfried Sabais (Stadt Darmstadt), Bruno Snell (Ehrenpräsident), Dolf Sternberger, Gerhard Storz, Bernhard Zeller, Eva Zeller