Ingeborg Bachmann
Encyclopedia
Ingeborg Bachmann was an Austria
n poet
and author.
, in the Austrian state of Carinthia
, the daughter of a headmaster. She studied philosophy
, psychology
, German philology
, and law
at the universities of Innsbruck, Graz
, and Vienna
. In 1949, she received her Doctor of Philosophy
from the University of Vienna with her dissertation titled "The Critical Reception of the Existential Philosophy of Martin Heidegger
," her thesis adviser was Victor Kraft
.
After graduating, Bachmann worked as a scriptwriter and editor at the Allied radio station Rot-Weiss-Rot, a job that enabled her to obtain an overview of contemporary literature and also supplied her with a decent income, making possible proper literary work. Furthermore, her first radio drama
s were published by the station. Her literary career was enhanced by contact with 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 spent the large part of the following years working on poems, essays and short stories as well as opera libretti
in collaboration with Hans Werner Henze
, which soon brought with them international fame and numerous awards. Her relationship with the Swiss
author Max Frisch
(1911–1991) bestowed the role of the second protagonist in Frisch's 1964 novel Mein Name sei Gantenbein upon her. His infidelity and the separation of the couple in 1962 had a deep impact on Bachmann.
Bachmann's work primarily focuses on themes like personal boundaries
, establishment of the truth, and philosophy of language
, the latter in the tradition of Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein
. Her doctoral dissertation expresses her growing disillusionment with Heidegerrian Existentialism, which was in part resolved through her growing interest in Wittgenstein, whose Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
significantly influenced her relationship to language.
Ingeborg Bachmann died in the Roman Sant' Eugenio hospital three weeks after a fire in her bedroom, on 17 October 1973. While according to the local police authority the blaze was induced by a lit cigarette, the real cause of her death remains unknown. Rumors have persisted that she did not succumb to the burns but to her long habit of compulsive pill-taking
, which was prevented by the stay in hospital. She is buried at the Annabichl cemetery in Klagenfurt.
, awarded annually in Klagenfurt since 1977, is named after her.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and author.
Biography
Bachmann was born in KlagenfurtKlagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
, in the Austrian state of Carinthia
Carinthia (state)
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group...
, the daughter of a headmaster. She studied philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, German philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
, and law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at the universities of Innsbruck, Graz
University of Graz
The University of Graz , a university located in Graz, Austria, is the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria....
, and Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
. In 1949, she received her Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
from the University of Vienna with her dissertation titled "The Critical Reception of the Existential Philosophy of Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher known for his existential and phenomenological explorations of the "question of Being."...
," her thesis adviser was Victor Kraft
Victor Kraft
Victor Kraft was an Austrian philosopher, best known for being a member of the Vienna Circle.-Biography:Kraft studied philosophy, geography and history at the University of Vienna...
.
After graduating, Bachmann worked as a scriptwriter and editor at the Allied radio station Rot-Weiss-Rot, a job that enabled her to obtain an overview of contemporary literature and also supplied her with a decent income, making possible proper literary work. Furthermore, her first radio drama
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
s were published by the station. Her literary career was enhanced by contact with Hans Weigel
Hans Weigel
Julius Hans Weigel was an Austrian Jewish writer and a theater critic . He lived in Vienna, except during the period between 1938 and 1945, when he lived in exile in Switzerland. He was a lifetime companion of the Austrian actress Elfriede Ott.- Biography :During the time before the Anschluss of...
(littérateur and sponsor of young post-war literature) and the legendary literary circle known as Gruppe 47
Group 47
Gruppe 47 was an influential literary association in Germany after World War II. '47' Stands for the year of their creation, 1947.-Early history:The beginnings reach back to1946 when Alfred Andersch and Walter Kolbenhoff founded the literary...
, whose members also included Ilse Aichinger
Ilse Aichinger
Ilse Aichinger is an Austrian writer noted for her accounts of her persecution by the Nazis because of her Jewish ancestry.- Life :...
, Paul Celan
Paul Celan
Paul Celan was a poet and translator...
, Heinrich Böll
Heinrich Böll
Heinrich Theodor Böll was one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers. Böll was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize in 1967 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1972.- Biography :...
, Marcel Reich-Ranicki
Marcel Reich-Ranicki
Marcel Reich-Ranicki is a Polish-born German literary critic and member of the literary group Gruppe 47. He is regarded as one of the most influential contemporary literary critics in the field of German literature and therefore was in Germany often called the 'Pope of literature' .-Life:Marcel...
and Günter Grass
Günter Grass
Günter Wilhelm Grass is a Nobel Prize-winning German author, poet, playwright, sculptor and artist.He was born in the Free City of Danzig...
.
In 1953, she moved to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy, where she spent the large part of the following years working on poems, essays and short stories as well as opera libretti
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
in collaboration with Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...
, which soon brought with them international fame and numerous awards. Her relationship with the Swiss
Swiss (people)
The Swiss are citizens or natives of Switzerland. The demonym derives from the toponym of Schwyz and has been in widespread use to refer to the Old Swiss Confederacy since the 16th century....
author Max Frisch
Max Frisch
Max Rudolf Frisch was a Swiss playwright and novelist, regarded as highly representative of German-language literature after World War II. In his creative works Frisch paid particular attention to issues relating to problems of human identity, individuality, responsibility, morality and political...
(1911–1991) bestowed the role of the second protagonist in Frisch's 1964 novel Mein Name sei Gantenbein upon her. His infidelity and the separation of the couple in 1962 had a deep impact on Bachmann.
Bachmann's work primarily focuses on themes like personal boundaries
Personal boundaries
Personal boundaries are guidelines, rules or limits that a person creates to identify for him- or herself what are reasonable, safe and permissible ways for other people to behave around him or her and how he or she will respond when someone steps outside those limits.'Personal boundaries define...
, establishment of the truth, and philosophy of language
Philosophy of language
Philosophy of language is the reasoned inquiry into the nature, origins, and usage of language. As a topic, the philosophy of language for analytic philosophers is concerned with four central problems: the nature of meaning, language use, language cognition, and the relationship between language...
, the latter in the tradition of Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947...
. Her doctoral dissertation expresses her growing disillusionment with Heidegerrian Existentialism, which was in part resolved through her growing interest in Wittgenstein, whose Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
The Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus is the only book-length philosophical work published by the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein in his lifetime. It was an ambitious project: to identify the relationship between language and reality and to define the limits of science...
significantly influenced her relationship to language.
Ingeborg Bachmann died in the Roman Sant' Eugenio hospital three weeks after a fire in her bedroom, on 17 October 1973. While according to the local police authority the blaze was induced by a lit cigarette, the real cause of her death remains unknown. Rumors have persisted that she did not succumb to the burns but to her long habit of compulsive pill-taking
Substance abuse
A substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
, which was prevented by the stay in hospital. She is buried at the Annabichl cemetery in Klagenfurt.
The Ingeborg Bachmann Prize
The prestigious Ingeborg Bachmann PrizeIngeborg Bachmann Prize
The Festival of German-Language Literature, formerly Ingeborg Bachmann Prize, is a literary competition which takes place yearly in Klagenfurt, Austria...
, awarded annually in Klagenfurt since 1977, is named after her.
Selected works
- Ingeborg Bachmann-Paul Celan: Correspondence (letters between Ingeborg and Paul CelanPaul CelanPaul Celan was a poet and translator...
, published 2010) - "Darkness Spoken: The Collected Poems of Ingeborg Bachmann," translated and introduced by Peter Filkins, published by Zephyr Press, 2006. Bilingual on facing pages.
- Last Living Words: The Ingeborg Bachmann Reader, translated by Lilian M. Friedberg, published by Green Integer, 2005
- Letters to Felician (letters to an imaginary correspondent, written 1945, published posthumously). Edited & translated into English by Damion Searls. Green Integer Books, 2004.
- Die gestundete Zeit (lyric poetry, 1953)
- Die Zikaden (radio play, 1955)
- Anrufung des Grossen Bären (lyric poetry, 1956)
- Der gute Gott von Manhattan (radio play, 1958)
- "Die Wahrheit ist dem Menschen zumutbar" (poetological speech at a German presentation of awards, 1959)
- "Frankfurter Vorlesungen" (lecture on problems of contemporary literature, 1959)
- Der Prinz von Homburg (libretto, 1960)
- Das dreißigste Jahr (story volume, 1961)
- Der junge LordDer junge LordDer junge Lord is an opera in two acts by Hans Werner Henze to a German libretto by Ingeborg Bachmann, after Wilhelm Hauff's Der Affe als Mensch from Der Scheik von Alexandria und seine Sklaven .The style and plot owe much to Italian opera buffa, with the influence of Vincenzo Bellini and...
(libretto, 1965) - Malina (novel, 19711971 in literatureThe year 1971 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Destiny Waltz by Gerda Charles wins the UK's first Whitbread Novel of the Year Award.-New books:*Hiroshi Aramata - Teito Monogatari...
) Translated into English by Philip Boehm. Holmes & Meier, 1999. - Simultan (story volume, 19721972 in literatureThe year 1972 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Fiction:*Richard Adams - Watership Down*Jorge Amado - Teresa Batista Cansada da Guerra *Martin Amis - The Rachel Papers...
) - Todesarten (novel-cycle project, unfinished)
- The Barking (short story)
External links
- author page at Lyrikline.orgLyrikline.orglyrikline.org hosts contemporary international poetry as audio and text , plus bibliographies and biographies for each poet.lyrikline.org was started in November 1999 as a German-language site...
, with audio and text in German, and translations into Dutch. - "The Drugs, the Words" Center for the Art of Translation Web Exclusive Content, Translated by Peter Filkins (English)