Christine Lavant Austrian poetess. Date of Birth: 04.07.1915 Country: Austria

Biography of Christina Lavant

Christina Lavant was an Austrian poet born as the ninth child in a poor miner's family. She suffered from various illnesses since birth, including nearly going blind from jaundice at one month old and partially losing her hearing. Lavant lived a life of poverty and sickness, working as a maid and selling knitted items for a living. She made several suicide attempts and received treatment in psychiatric clinics.

Only towards the end of her life did Lavant gain some recognition, becoming a laureate of the Georg Trakl and Anton Wildgans prizes in 1964, as well as the Austrian State Prize for Literature in 1970. She was known for her concise and emotionally restrained yet deeply religious poems, which were compiled in books such as "The Beggar's Mug" (1956) and "The Peacock's Cry" (1962). Lavant also wrote an autobiographical prose called "The Child" in 1948.

Much of Lavant's work was only published posthumously. In 1987, the renowned Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard compiled a book of her selected poems. Five romances based on Lavant's poems were later composed by German composer Wolfgang Rihm in 2001. Lavant's poetry has been translated into English, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Georgian, and other languages.

In 1995, a literary prize named after Christina Lavant was established in Austria, and to commemorate the 25th anniversary of her death, a postage stamp with her name was issued.