Lives in Vienna.
Writes prose (for adults, children, and young adults) and dramatic texts.
Works on dramaturgy and text for theater performances.
Leads theater education workshops (especially in schools).
Teaches German as a foreign language.
District councilor in Vienna’s second municipal district.
Rosemarie Poiarkov, born in 1974 in Baden near Vienna, studied Philosophy, German Studies, and Political Science in Vienna, and spent a semester in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Her debut, the short story collection Eine CD lang. Liebesgeschichten (As long as a CD. Love Stories), was published by Zsolnay in 2001, and she spent three months at the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin (LCB) as a fellow. Upon returning to Vienna, she contributed as a guest author to the online platform Die Flut (The Flood), founded by Xaver Bayer, and began her work for the theater with her first play küchenliegen (lying in the kitchen) (dir. Paola Aguilera, Drama X, Vienna 2004; published 2008). She gained experience as an assistant director and dramaturgical assistant and collaborated on projects with the theater group theaterprocedere, which she helped establish and remained part of until the group disbanded in 2007.
In autumn 2007, her second book, the narrative Wer, wenn nicht wir? (Who If Not Us?), was published by Czernin.
In 2008, together with Lena Wicke‑Aengenheyster, she directed the performance Matti – Runter kommen alle (Matti – Everyone Comes Down)(brut Wien), based on her own text. A revised version was later adapted for radio and broadcast in 2010 on Ö1 as the radio play Matti, spring! (Matti, Jump!) (dir. Nikolaus Scholz).
Since then, Poiarkov has worked as an author and dramaturg on numerous stage productions, including with the Polish director and choreographer Cezary Tomaszewski and the performer Sabine Marte. With Made in Austria (brut Wien / Wiener Festwochen, 2012), a co‑production staged in the Vienna Danube Tower, her collaboration with performance artist Oleg Soulimenko began. She continues to contribute text and dramaturgy to many of his projects, including radio plays for Kunstradio Ö1.
In 2015, her children’s book Jakob und Ingxenje (Jakob and Ingxenje), illustrated by Michaela Weiss, was published by Bibliothek der Provinz. In February 2017, her first novel Aussichten sind überschätzt (Overrated Views) was released by Residenz.
After completing her training as a theater educator at IFANT Vienna in 2016, Poiarkov began teaching writing and theater workshops and leading cultural outreach projects, often in collaboration with Birte Brudermann.
In June 2023, her young adult novel Rote Zitronen (Red Lemons), illustrated by Susie Flowers, was published by fabrik.transit.
In the fall semester 2025, she is the Writer in Residence of the Max Kade Foundation at the BGSU in Bowling Green, Ohio.