Being such a small country, it’s difficult to find many people who speak Luxembourgish — roughly 390,000 people worldwide. That being said, it’s even harder to find someone who writes Luxembourgish literature.
There are four literary prizes in Luxembourg: the National Literary Competition, the Batty Weber national literature prize, the Prix Servais for literature, and Lëtzebuerger Buchpräis. The National Literary Competition, the Prix Servais, and the Lëtzebuerger Buchpräis are awarded annually whereas the Batty Weber prize is awarded every three years.
In the spirit of ‘mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn’, we have decided to present a few contemporary Luxembourgish authors and our very own superhero.
Guy Rewenig was born August 31, 1947 and grew up in the Gasperich and Cessange areas. He attended the Athénée de Luxembourg and eventually became a teacher in Bettembourg and then Esch-sur-Alzette. He currently lives in Nospelt where he continues to be an independent writer. He writes a variety of short stories, novels, plays and children’s books in three languages; French, German and Luxembourgish. He has also written periodicals for both Luxembourgish and foreign publications. In 1974 he helped to found the Association for the Support of Immigrant Workers (ASTI).
He wrote his first Luxembourgish play in 1974 called D’Sakgaas in collaboration with Josy Braun and Guy Wagner. He was very influential in the Luxembourgish novel scene, writing the first modern novel Hannert dem Atlantik in 1985, which later became a series of five books ending with Vakanz am Pazifik.
In 2000, together with Roger Manderscheid, he founded the Ultimomondo publishing house, however they ended publications in 2014.
Roger Manderscheid was born March 1, 1933 in Itzig and died June 1, 2010. He, like Wagner, attended the Athénée de Luxembourg and became a teacher in Consdorf. He later worked for the National Rail Company in Bettembourg and was a civil servant in the Ministry of Labor and Ministry of Culture. He also initiated the National Literary Contest.
He first started writing in lycée with the plays De Pinselmuppi and D’Kloschare Fléien deif. He was also involved in radio plays on German radio stations Burgbesichtigung and Papiertiger. For many foreign plays, he did translation such as translating the French play L’affaire de la rue Lourcine by Eugène Libiche (Eng Nuecht um Kuelebierg).
In 1988, he began a series of three novels: Schacko Klak , Papagei um Käschtebam and Feier a Flam. Of these three books, Schacko Klak was produced as a film by Samsa Film.
In 1990, he was awarded the Batty-Weber Prize for his complete works as well as later the Prix Servais, first prize in the National Literary Competition, the Gustav Regler-Preis and the Lëtzebuerger Buchpräis.
Claudine Muno was born July 2, 1979 and attended l’École privée Fieldgen in Luxembourg. She attended Miami University Ohio before returning to study History and English literature. She completed her studies in Strasbourg where she wrote her dissertation on World War II in Luxembourgish cultural and documentary films.
She mostly writes about family and youth using fantasy and fairy elements. Her works deal with Luxembourgish society’s criticism of deviant behaviour and social differences. In addition, she has also written several children’s books with Pascale Juncker. Her two most recent Luxembourgish novels are Komm net kräischen in 2015 and sou wéi et net war in 2019.
She is also a singer/songwriter and has done collaborations with the band Luna Boots.
In 2004 she was laureate of the Prix Servais and the following year awarded the IKB-Jugendpreis.
Anja di Bartolomeo was born in 1978 to Sylvie Bintz. She attend primary and lycee at Michel Rodange in Luxembourg City
and later studied political science and history in Augsburg. She worked as a freelancer from 2004 - 2009 for various magazines and now works at the Centre Hospitalier Emile Mayrisch. She has two collections of short stories, Exit Schattenkopf and Chamäleons.
Born in 1979, Andy Genen is a comic artist. He operates under the pseudonym ND! for his works. He attended the Lycée de Garçons in Esch-sur-Alzette for art and later Sint-Lukashogeschool in Brussels for comic arts, where he is now based. He was also involved in De Fluch vun der 23 from Superjhemp.
Currently one of the most popular characters in Luxembourgish literature is Superjhemp, a Luxembourgish anti-hero.
Created by Lucien Czuga and Roger Leiner, De Superjhemp combats various villans, including famous Luxembourgish caricatures.
The first comic featuring De Superjhemp was De Superjhemp géint de Bommeléer, released in November 1988.
In October 2018, the film De Superjhemp retörns was released in cinemas throughout Luxembourg and received 8.3/10 stars on its IMDb page.
Let us know in the comments below who your favourite Luxembourgish author is or your favourite Luxembourgish book.
Schacko Klak
Superjhemp retörns
Guy Rewenig
Roger Manderscheid
Claudine Muno
Anja di Bartolomeo
RTL Introduces Anja di Bartolomeo
RTL Introduces Andy Genen
