Steffen Mensching

Steffen Mensching, born in Berlin in 1958, studied cultural studies at Humboldt University of Berlin. He worked as a freelance writer, actor, clown and director, and became known through clown programmes performed with Hans-Eckardt Wenzel, including »Letztes aus der DaDaeR« (1983–1989). He made his literary debut with a poetry collection in 1979. His novels include »Jacobs Leiter« (2003), »Lustigs Flucht« (2005) and »Schermanns Augen« (2018). For »Schermanns Augen«, he received the Erich Fried Prize and the Uwe Johnson Society Prize. In 2022, he was awarded the Berlin Literature Prize of the Stiftung Preußische Seehandlung. From 2008, Mensching served as artistic director of Theater Rudolstadt.