Hans Magnus Enzensberger (11 November 1929 – 24 November 2022) was a German author, poet, translator, and editor. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Andreas Thalmayr, Elisabeth Ambras, Linda Quilt and Giorgio Pellizzi. Enzensberger was regarded as one of the literary founding figures of the
Federal Republic of Germany and wrote more than 70 books,[1] with works translated into 40 languages. He was one of the leading authors in
Group 47, and influenced the 1968
West German student movement. He was awarded the
Georg Büchner Prize and the
Pour le Mérite, among many others.
Life and career
Enzensberger was born in 1929 in
Kaufbeuren, a small town in
Bavaria, as the eldest of four boys.[2] His father, Andreas Enzensberger, worked as a telecommunications technician, and his mother, Leonore (Ledermann) Enzensberger, a kindergarten teacher.[3][4] Enzensberger was part of the last generation of intellectuals whose writing was shaped by first-hand experience of Nazi Germany.[a] The Enzensberger family moved to
Nuremberg in 1931.[2]Julius Streicher, the founder and publisher of the virulently antisemitic Der Stürmer, was their next-door neighbour. Hans Magnus joined the
Hitler Youth in his teens, but was expelled soon afterwards. "I have always been incapable of being a good comrade. I can't stay in line. It's not in my character. It may be a defect, but I can't help it."[2]
In 1949, after completing his Abitur in
Nördlingen,[5] Enzensberger studied literature and philosophy at the universities of
Erlangen,
Freiburg, and
Hamburg, and at the
Sorbonne in Paris, receiving his doctorate in 1955 for a thesis about
Clemens Brentano's poetry.[6][7][8] Until 1957 he worked as a radio editor in
Stuttgart with
Alfred Andersch;[9] he criticized in a radio essay Der Spiegel's language style.[10] He became one of the leading authors in the
Group 47, an institution that shaped the culture of Germany after World War II.[11][12] In 1957 Group 47 member
Ingeborg Bachmann and Enzensberger began to exchange letters.[13][14] His first literary publication was the poem collection verteidigung der wölfe (Defense of the Wolves) in 1957, followed by landessprache in 1960, both originally in all-lowercase.[15][16] They were perceived as opposition to the establishment of those who had been on battle fields and in camps[clarification needed], described as "furious, elegant and of controlled rage" ("furios, elegant und von kontrollierter Wut").[1] He played the role "zorniger junger Mann" (angry young man) as British role models.[17] In 1960, he was the editor of Museum der modernen Poesie (Museum of modern poetry), an anthology of poems by contemporary authors in a juxtaposition of original and translation, which was rare at the time.[1][18] From 1960 to 1961, Enzensberger was a
literary editor (Verlagslektor) at
Suhrkamp in Frankfurt.[9] He spoke several languages, intensified by travels: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Norwegian, Swedish and some Russian.[1] With a volume of essays published in 1962, Einzelheiten, he entered the position of a critical intellectual which he held for life.[17]
Between 1965 and 1975 he lived briefly in the United States (Fellow of the Center for Advanced Studies
Wesleyan University)[b][19] and Cuba.[20] He had the composer
Hans Werner Henze invited to Cuba in 1969, and wrote the libretto for his El Cimarrón for baritone and three instrumentalists based on the memories of the escaped slave
Esteban Montejo.[21]
Enzensberger lived in
Norway, Italy, Mexico, Cuba, the United States,
West Berlin, and since 1979 in
Munich[28][5] where he died on 24 November 2022, at age 93.[11][29][30]
Work
Enzensberger wrote in a sarcastic, ironic tone in many of his poems.[31] For example, the poem "Middle Class Blues" consists of various typicalities of middle class life, with the phrase "we can't complain" repeated several times, and concludes with "what are we waiting for?". Many of his poems also feature themes of civil unrest over economic- and class-based issues. Though primarily a poet and essayist, he also ventured into theatre, film, opera, radio drama, reportage and translation. He wrote novels and several books for children (including The Number Devil, an exploration of mathematics, translated in 34 languages)[32] and was co-author of a book for
German as a foreign language, (Die Suche).[33] He often wrote his poems and letters
in lower case.[34]Tumult, written in 2014, is an autobiographical reflection of his 1960s as a left-wing sympathizer visiting the
Soviet Union and Cuba.[35][36] His own work has been translated into more than 40 languages.[7]
In 2009, Enzensberger received a special lifetime recognition award given by the trustees of the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry,[7] which also awards the annual
Griffin Poetry Prize.[28]
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1981) [1957]. Verteidigung der Wölfe : Gedichte (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-01711-X.
OCLC7589588.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1969) [1960]. Landessprache. Gedichte (in German). (Frankfurt a.M.): Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-10304-0.
OCLC1820152.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (2012). Allerleirauh viele schöne Kinderreime (in German). Berlin.
ISBN978-3-458-17535-3.
OCLC779627444.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1964). Einzelheiten, I. Bewusstseins-Industrie (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-10063-7.
OCLC16841964.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1978). Politik und Verbrechen : neun Beiträge (in German). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-36942-3.
OCLC610973978.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1967). Blindenschrift (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-10217-6.
OCLC489767810.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1967). Deutschland, Deutschland unter anderm : Äußerungen zur Politik (in German). Frankfurt am Main.
ISBN3-518-10203-6.
OCLC490053596.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1972). Der kurze Sommer der Anarchie; Buenaventura Durrutis Leben und Tod. Roman (in German). Frankfurt am Main]: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-02760-3.
OCLC682651.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1981). Gespräche mit Marx und Engels (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-37216-5.
OCLC8736685.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1974). Palaver : polit. Überlegungen (1967-1973) (in German). Frankfurt, am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-00696-7.
OCLC1185400.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1978). Mausoleum : Siebenunddreissig Balladen aus der Geschichte des Fortschritts (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-01602-4.
OCLC9376137.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1985). Politische Brosamen (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-37632-2.
OCLC12842864.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1987). Ach Europa! : Wahrnehmungen aus sieben Ländern : mit einem Epilog aus dem Jahre 2006 (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-04432-X.
OCLC17677593.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1988). Mittelmass und Wahn : gesammelte Zerstreuungen (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-40131-9.
OCLC19025463.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1993). Zukunftsmusik (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-38723-5.
OCLC30121446.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus; Calderón de la Barca, Pedro (1992). Die Tochter der Luft : ein Schauspiel : nach dem Spanischen des Calderón de la Barca (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-40429-6.
OCLC25601695.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1994). Die grosse Wanderung dreiunddreissig Markierungen ; mit einer Fussnote "Über einige Besonderheiten bei der Menschenjagd" (in German). Frankfurt am Main.
ISBN978-3-518-38834-1.
OCLC611293243.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1997). Zickzack : Aufsätze (in German). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-40858-5.
OCLC37034067.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus;
Berner, Rotraut Susanne (1999). Der Zahlenteufel : ein Kopfkissenbuch für alle, die Angst vor der Mathematik haben (in German). München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag.
ISBN3-423-62015-3.
OCLC44578757.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (2005). Leichter als Luft : moralische Gedichte (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-45666-0.
OCLC57746201.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (2006). Schreckens Männer : Versuch über den radikalen Verlierer (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-06820-2.
OCLC69019611.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1964). Einzelheiten, I. Bewusstseins-Industrie (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-10063-7.
OCLC16841964.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1984). Einzelheiten II : Poesie und Politik (in German). [Frankfurt am Main]: Suhrkamp.
ISBN3-518-10087-4.
OCLC18665474.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (2006). Gedichte, 1950-2005 (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN978-3-518-45823-5.
OCLC76949101.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (2007). Im Irrgarten der Intelligenz : ein Idiotenführer (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN978-3-518-12532-8.
OCLC170906920.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (2008). Hammerstein, oder, Der Eigensinn : eine deutsche Geschichte (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
ISBN978-3-518-41960-1.
OCLC190795588.
Bibliography (English)
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus; Hamburger, Michael; Totherberg, Jerome (1968). Poems for people who don't read poems. London: Secker & Warburg.
ISBN0-436-14820-X.
OCLC42322.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus; Roloff, Michael (1974). Politics and crime. New York.
ISBN0-8164-9224-7.
OCLC960135.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus; Roloff, Michael (1974). The consciousness industry; on literature, politics and the media. New York: Seabury Press.
ISBN0-8164-9185-2.
OCLC800583.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1974). The Havana inquiry. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
ISBN0-03-080197-4.
OCLC696857.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1976). Mausoleum : thirty-seven ballads from the history of progress. New York: Urizen Books.
ISBN0-916354-04-0.
OCLC2687581.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1976). Raids and reconstructions : essays on politics, crime, and culture. London: Pluto Press.
ISBN0-904383-16-4.
OCLC2848621.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus; Grimm, Reinhold; Armstrong, Bruce (1982). Critical essays. New York: Continuum.
ISBN0-8264-0258-5.
OCLC8109572.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1988). Dreamers of the absolute : essays on politics, crime, and culture. London: Raduis.
ISBN0-09-173240-9.
OCLC18625156.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus; Chalmers, Martin (1989). Europe, Europe : forays into a continent. New York: Pantheon Books.
ISBN0-394-55819-7.
OCLC18588651.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus; Dagerman, Stig (1990). Europa in Trümmern Augenzeugenberichte aus den Jahren 1944 - 1948 (in German). Frankfurt am Main.
ISBN978-3-8218-4065-9.
OCLC243435191.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1992). Mediocrity and delusion : collected diversions. London: Verso.
ISBN0-86091-349-X.
OCLC24791891.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus; Hamburger, Michael (1999). Selected poems. Riverdale-on-Hudson, N.Y.: Sheep Meadow Press.
ISBN1-878818-73-2.
OCLC41026436.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus; Spence, Piers; Chalmers, Martin (1994). Civil wars : from L.A. to Bosnia. New York: New Press.
ISBN1-56584-208-1.
OCLC31314029.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (1997). Zig zag : the politics of culture and vice versa. New York: New Press.
ISBN1-56584-436-X.
OCLC40487910.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus; Chalmers, Martin (2009). The silences of Hammerstein : a German story. London: Seagull Books.
ISBN978-1-906497-22-4.
OCLC318878364.
Quilt, Linda; Sowa, Michael; Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (2010). Unlikely progeny. London: Seagull Books.
ISBN978-1-906497-66-8.
OCLC743436171.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus; Chalmers, Martin; Kinsky, Esther (2018). A history of clouds : 99 meditations. London.
ISBN978-0-85742-579-9.
OCLC1032026671.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (2011). Fatal numbers : why count on chance. New York: Upper West Side Philosophers.
ISBN978-1-935830-01-6.
OCLC674931655.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (2011). Brussels, the gentle monster : or the disenfranchisement of Europe. London: Seagull Books.
ISBN978-0-85742-023-7.
OCLC754168366.
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus; Hoban, Wieland (2015). Mr Zed's reflections, or, Breadcrumbs he dropped, gathered up by his listeners. London.
ISBN978-0-85742-224-8.
OCLC927489699.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus; Mitchell, Mike (2018). Anarchy's brief summer : the life and death of Buenaventura Durruti : a novel. London.
ISBN978-0-85742-600-0.
OCLC1077270536.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (2002). Museum der modernen Poesie mehrsprachige Ausgabe (in German). Frankfurt am Main.
ISBN978-3-518-41380-7.
OCLC216904877.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^Enzensberger, Hans Magnus (21 November 2015).
"On Leaving America". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
^Grub, Frank Thomas (2003). Wende und Einheit im Spiegel der deutschsprachigen Literatur : ein Handbuch. Band 1, Untersuchungen (in German). Berlin: W. de Gruyter. p. 542.
ISBN978-3-11-020163-5.
OCLC174964561.
Schmidt, Jan Hendrik (2007). Enzensberger und die Mathematik. Zwischen Faszination und Unverständnis (in German). München.
ISBN978-3-638-77216-7.
OCLC724274890.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
Lau, Jörg (1999). Hans Magnus Enzensberger : ein öffentliches Leben (in German). Berlin: A. Fest.
ISBN3-8286-0049-2.
OCLC42668925.
Fritsche, Martin: Hans Magnus Enzensbergers produktionsorientierte Moral. Konstanten in der Ästhetik eines Widersachers der Gleichheit. Dissertation, Technische Universität Berlin; Peter Lang, Bern u. a. 1997, 264 p., hardcover,
ISBN978-3-906757-91-9. (Zur politischen Haltung, politischen Polemik und Provokation im Werk Enzensbergers.)
Rommerskirchen, Theo: Hans Magnus Enzensberger. In: viva signatur si! Remagen-Rolandseck 2005,
ISBN978-3-926943-85-9.
Barbey, Rainer: Unheimliche Fortschritte. Natur, Technik und Mechanisierung im Werk von Hans Magnus Enzensberger. dissertation, University of Regensburg;
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, 248 p., hardcover,
ISBN978-3-89971-345-9,
Inhaltsverzeichnis (table of content, in German, PDF),
Einleitung (introduction, in German, PDF).
Cuervo, Francisco Adolfo Aristizábal: Der Dichter als Übersetzer: Auf Spurensuche: Hans Magnus Enzensbergers Übersetzungsmethode(n). Tectum Verlag, 2008,
ISBN978-3-8288-9697-0.
Park, Hyun Jeong: "Das Ende der Welt ist vielleicht nur ein Provisorium". Ökologisch-postapokalyptisches Denken im lyrischen und essayistischen Werk Hans Magnus Enzensbergers. Diss, University of Munich, Aisthesis, Bielefeld 2010,
ISBN978-3-89528-747-3.
Hans Magnus Enzensberger und die Ideengeschichte der Bundesrepublik, with an Essay by
Lars Gustafsson. Universitätsverlag Winter, 2010,
ISBN978-3-8253-5758-0
Clayton, Alan J.: Writing with the Words of Others: Essays on the Poetry of Hans Magnus Enzensberger. Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 2010, 272 p.,
ISBN978-3-8260-4308-6.