The Austrian poet and prose artist Evelyn Schlag was born in 1952 in Waidhofen an der Ybbs. She studied German and American literature at the University of Vienna, and taught Mittelschule in Vienna before returning to Waidhofen and taking a part-time position teaching German and English at the Bundeshandelsakademie. She has produced a steady stream of volumes since her debut publication in 1981. These include, in addition to her volumes of poetry and prose, a translation of the Scottish poet Douglas Dunn’s Elegies in 1991 and, in 1993, theoretical writings entitled Keiner fragt mich je, wozu ich diese Krankheit denn brauche, a work consisting of her 1993 Graz lectures about literature.
Among her many public recognitions, Schlag has received the Bremer Förderpreis (1988), the Anton Wildgans Prize (1997), and the Otto Stoessl Prize (1998). She has also been short-listed for the Aristeion prize (1998).
