INGEBORG BACHMANN was born in Klagenfurt, Austria in 1926. She studied philosophy, psychology, German philology, and law at the universities of Innsbruck Graz and Vienna. Her literary career became prominent with the help of Hans Weigel (littérateur and sponsor of young post-war literature) and the legendary literary circle known as Gruppe 47, whose members also included Ilse Aichinger, Paul Celan, Heinrich Böll, Marcel Reich-Ranicki and Günter Grass. In 1953, she moved to Rome, Italy, where she worked for several years on poems, essays, opera libretti, and short stories, which soon brought with them international fame and numerous awards. Bachmann’s work primarily focuses on themes such as the establishment of the truth and philosophy of language, the latter in the tradition of Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Ingeborg Bachmann died in a Roman hospital three weeks after a fire in her bedroom on October 17, 1973. She is the author of many volumes of poetry, drama, and short stories that are acclaimed worldwide and have been the subject of extensive literary criticism.