Jayne-Ann Igel wins Hölty Prize for Poetry with 20,000 Euro award

The Hölty Prize for Poetry, a prestigious award from the city and Sparkasse Hannover, will be presented to Dresden-based author Jayne-Ann Igel. Igel, born in Leipzig in 1954, has worked as a freelance author since the late 1980s. Her literary journey began in the underground scene of the late GDR with self-published poetry and art collections.

Since the 1990s, Igel has also influenced poetry as an editor and publisher. Her latest collection, "wolken hinterm rollo," was released in 2024. The jury lauded her work as "poetic speech that gains its sharpness precisely from restraint and occupies an unmistakable place in German-language poetry." They described her writing as highly sensitive, melancholic, and possessing analytical precision.

"With the Hölty Prize, a life's work is honored that never takes language for granted and thereby opens up new spaces for it," the jury stated. The Hölty Prize for Poetry has been awarded every two years since 2008. It carries a prize of 20,000 euros, endowed by Sparkasse Hannover. The award ceremony is scheduled for December 2 at the Sprengel Museum in Hannover. The prize is named after the poet Ludwig Christoph Heinrich Hölty (1748-1776).