Born in 1925, he served in the military in the 1940s and was taken prisoner of war, then studied German and English. Ernst Jandl worked as a teacher at a Viennese grammar school to earn a living. At the same time, he published his first texts. In 1956, his poetry collection ‘Andere Augen’ (Other Eyes) was published. In the early 1960s, Jandl established contacts with publishers in the Federal Republic of Germany. His readings also took him to the USA, and he received several awards and prizes during his lifetime, including the German Cabaret Award, the German Record Critics' Award and the Frankfurt Radio Play Award. From 1984 onwards, he combined his linguistic arts with those of music and performed with musicians from the Vienna Art Orchestra, among others. Ernst Jandl died in Vienna on 9 June 2000.

His works are freely accessible on the 3rd floor of the ULB.