Born on 24 March 1927 in Wasserburg, Lake Constance
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| 1943 - 1945 | |
Military service |
| 1946 - 1948 | Studied at the Academy of Theology and Philosophy in Regensburg | |
| 1948 - 1951 | PhD in literature, history and philosophy at the University Tübingen | |
| 1949 - 1957 | Journalist, director and author of radio plays at the Süddeutsche Rundfunk | |
| 1953 | joined the “Gruppe 47” (Group 47, German post-WWII literary association) | |
| 1955 | Awarded with the “Gruppe 47”-Prize | |
| 1958 | Three months’ residency in the US: Haward-International-Seminar; in the 70s and 80s guest-professor at several US colleges and universities | |
| 1981 | Awarded with the Georg Büchner Prize | |
| 1987 | Awarded with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany | |
| 1990 | Awarded with the Großer Literaturpreis der Bayerischen Akademie der Schönen Künste | |
| 1993 | Received the "Pour le mérite" medal; Poetics lecturer at the University Heidelberg | |
| 1998 | Awarded with the “Peace Prize of the German Book Trade” | |
| Lives at Lake Constance |
