Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim (2 April 1719 – 18 February 1803) was a German 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...

.

Life

Gleim was born at Ermsleben near Halberstadt

Halberstadt

Halberstadt is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt and the capital of the district of Harz. It is located on the German Half-Timbered House Road and the Magdeburg–Thale railway....

. Having studied law at the University of Halle he became secretary to Prince William of Brandenburg-Schwedt

Brandenburg-Schwedt

Brandenburg-Schwedt was a cadet line of the Hohenzollerns of Brandenburg-Prussia who administered territories in the north of the Margraviate of Brandenburg...

 at Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, where he made the acquaintance of Ewald von Kleist

Ewald Christian von Kleist

Ewald Christian von Kleist was a German poet and officer.-Life:Kleist was born at Zeblin, near Köslin in Farther Pomerania, to the von Kleist family of cavalry leaders...

, whose devoted friend he became. When the prince fell at the battle of Prague, Gleim became secretary to Prince Leopold of Dessau

Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau

Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau. He was also a Generalfeldmarschall in the Prussian army...

; but he soon gave up his position, not being able to bear the roughness of the "Old Dessauer."

After residing a few years in Berlin he was appointed, in 1747, secretary of the cathedral chapter at Halberstadt. Father Gleim was the title accorded to him throughout all literary Germany on account of his kind-hearted though inconsiderate and undiscriminating patronage alike of the poets and poetasters of the period. He wrote a large number of imitations of Anacreon

Anacreon

Anacreon was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and hymns. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of nine lyric poets.- Life :...

, Horace

Horace

Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...

 and the minnesingers, a didactic poem entitled Halladat oder das rote Buch (1774), and collections of fables and romances.

Of higher merit are his Preussische Kriegslieder von einem Grenadier (1758). These, which were inspired by the campaigns of Frederick II

Frederick II of Prussia

Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...

, are often distinguished by genuine feeling and vigorous force of expression. They are also noteworthy as being the first of that long series of noble political songs in which later German literature is so rich. With the exception of this collection, Gleim's writings are for the most part commonplace in thought and expression. He died at Halberstadt on 18 February 1803.

Gleim's Sämtliche Werke appeared in 7 vols. in the years 1811–1813; a reprint of the Lieder eines Grenadiers was published by A Sauer in 1882. A good selection of Gleim's poetry will be found in Franz Muncker, Anakreontiker und preussisch-patriotische Lyriker (1894). See Wilhelm Körte, Gleims Leben aus seinen Briefen und Schriften (1811). His correspondence with Heinse

Johann Jakob Wilhelm Heinse

Wilhelm Heinse , German author, was born at Langewiesen in Schwarzburg-Sondershausen ....

 was published in 2 vols (1894/1896), with Uz (1889), in both cases edited by C. Schüddekopf.

Many of his poems were set to music. The Kriegslieder were very popular, and set by Georg Philipp Telemann

Georg Philipp Telemann

Georg Philipp Telemann was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesheim, Telemann entered the University of Leipzig to study law, but eventually...

 and Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart

Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart

Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart , was a German poet, born at Obersontheim in Swabia.He entered the university of Erlangen in 1758 as a student of theology. He led a dissolute life, and after two years' stay was summoned home by his parents...

. C.P.E. Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, Reichardt, Schubert, and Spohr

Spohr

Spohr is a German surname, and may refer to:* Arnold Spohr , Canadian ballet dancer, choreographer, and artistic director of German descent* Louis Spohr , German composer, violinist, and conductor...

 all set some of his Anacreontic poems.

Gleimhaus

After his death, his personal effects were carefully looked after by his great-nephew, Friedrich Wilhelm Körte (1776–1846). In 1862, Gleim's colossal library of 12,000 books (including 50 incunabula) and the huge collection of letters, manuscripts and documents in Gleim's estate were used as the kernel of a museum of 18th century literary life in Halberstadt and beyond. It was augmented by the collection of Christian Friedrich Bernhard Augustin (1771–1856). Still in operation, the Gleimhaus is one of the oldest literary museums in Germany.

The Gleim Prize for Literature (Gleim-Literaturpreis), awarded for outstanding non-fiction on the subject of 18th century literature, was established in 1995.

• 1995 Heinz Dieter Kittsteiner
• 1997 Gudrun Gersmann
• 1999 Jürgen Osterhammel
  Jürgen Osterhammel
  Jürgen Osterhammel is a German historian.-Academia:Osterhammel started his academic career as a research fee student at the London School of Economics in 1976/77 and studied and worked there under Professor Ian Nish. In 1980 he obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Kassel in Modern History...
  
  
• 2001 Martin Geck
• 2003 Christoph Schulte
• 2005 Angela Steidele
• 2007 Günter de Bruyn
  Günter de Bruyn
  Günter de Bruyn is a German author.-Life:Günter de Bruyn was born in Berlin and served as a Luftwaffenhelfer and soldier in World War II. After his release from his American arrest, he found a place as a farm worker in Hesse. After his return to Berlin, he would be trained as a "new teacher" in...
  
  
• 2009 Mark-Georg Dehrmann

External links

• Website of the Gleimhaus
• Gleim Prize for Literature