The publisher recognized him as an “outstanding chronicler” of his time and one of the most important authors of contemporary German literature. Delius wrote works such as “The Sunday on which I became world champion” or, most recently, the volume of stories “The Seven Languages of Silence”, published in 2021. Delius has received many awards, including the Georg Büchner Prize in 2011.
His always carefully researched titles include a trilogy on the German Autumn of 1977, in which Delius dealt with the armed struggle of the left-wing terrorist RAF and the assassination of employer president Hanns Martin Schleyer. Or the novel “My Year as a Murderer”, which deals with the suppression of Nazi crimes in post-war Germany.
“The pears from Ribbeck” came after the fall of the Wall
In 2019 his novel “If the Chinese buy Rügen, then think of me” was published. It’s about a self-confident journalist who is fired two years before retirement – the entertaining, biting portrait of a freethinker and flâneur. The story “Die Pears von Ribbeck” (1991) from the time of German unity stands out.
Roma played an important role for FC Delius, as he was often shortened. He was born there on February 13, 1943, the son of a Westphalian curate and a kindergarten teacher. He grew up in Hesse, lived in Berlin and later found his second wife back in Rome. He was also a fellow at Villa Massimo. There he worked on the documentary satire “Unsere Siemens-Welt”.
Delius has been active for more than six decades, his works have been translated into more than 20 languages, he also took part in the legendary Gruppe 47 meetings. Already at the age of 18 he published his first poems. Its discoverer was the publisher Klaus Wagenbach. He brought the literary scholar to his legendary collective publishing house as an editor in 1970. Delius was close to the 1968 movement, but did not want to be harnessed.
Because of the attitude towards the RAF, Wagenbach broke up. In 1973, Delius and friends founded the Rotbuch Verlag, which is also managed jointly. His flair for authors who were still unknown at the time, such as Heiner Müller, Thomas Brasch, Thea Dorn and Herta Müller, made him successful. He helped introduce East German authors to the West – a mediator between East and West who also smuggled works across the border. He has been a freelance writer since 1978.
The subjective view was important to him
Delius once explained his work in the dpa interview as follows: “I try to answer questions that I have about certain aspects of our present or historical events by sending characters off on expeditions, so to speak. I try to get behind headlines, formulas and prejudices to arrive at perceptions that are as differentiated as possible through the most subjective view possible.”
Delius has published more than 35 books. Rowohlt had already started a new edition of the complete works for his 70th birthday. On his death, the publisher praised his work as “of great consistency, great clarity and power”. For Rowohlt Berlin publisher Gunnar Schmidt, who was also his editor, he was an author with curiosity about the world – with imagination, intuition and knowledge of human nature. “His voice will be missed.”
Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) emphasized that German history is reflected in Delius’ work. “His works are characterized by intensive language power and a clear attitude: against hard-heartedness and indifference, against opportunism and conformism.” His death is a great loss for German and European literature. “We will miss him very much, his works will occupy us for a long time.” (dpa)