born Dec. 6, 1942, Griffen, Austria
Austrian writer.
He studied law before beginning to write seriously. He earned an early reputation as a member of the avant-garde with plays such as Offending the Audience (1966), in which actors analyze the nature of theatre and alternately insult the audience and praise its "performance," and Kaspar (1968). His novels, mostly ultraobjective, deadpan accounts of characters in extreme states of mind, include The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1970) and The Left-Handed Woman (1976). A dominant theme of his works is the deadening effects and underlying irrationality of ordinary language, everyday reality, and rational order.