Carl Seelig

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Carl Seelig (born May 11, 1894 in Zurich ; † February 15, 1962 there ) was a German-speaking Swiss writer and patron . He was best known as a friend, sponsor and guardian of Robert Walser like Eduard Einstein and, above all, as the first biographer of his father Albert Einstein .

Life

Carl Seelig was born in Zurich in 1894 as the son of Karl Wilhelm Seelig, the owner of a silk dyeing factory, and Julie Alwine Seelig, née Kuhn. He attended the Trogen Cantonal School from 1910 to 1915 and began literary work at an early age. Through his work as the editor of various anthologies and as a silent partner in the Viennese publisher EP Tal & Co , he came into contact with numerous German-speaking writers and, especially from 1933, proved to be a sensitive and sensitive helper in times of need. Seelig's own production was enormously rich and varied: it ranges from poetry and folk song collections to participation in Albert Einstein's Mein Weltbild . An international library overview records 163 published works by Seelig in 294 publications and 13 languages.

Numerous correspondence from his estate testify to Seelig's selfless commitment. Correspondence partners included Max Brod , Hans Henny Jahnn , Alfred Polgar and Joseph Roth . Seelig also maintained close contacts with Swiss authors.

The manuscript part of his estate, comprising around 6,000 items, is part of the Robert Walser Archive in Bern and is kept as a long-term deposit in the Swiss Literary Archive .

He found his final resting place in the Sihlfeld cemetery in Zurich , next to his parents' grave.

Works (selection)

As an author

  • Hikes with Robert Walser. Tschudy. St. Gallen 1957; Suhrkamp ( Library Suhrkamp 554), Frankfurt am Main, 12. A. 2009, ISBN 978-3-518-01554-4 .
  • Original characters from the Schoop family. In: Thurgauer Jahrbuch . 33rd year, 1958, pages 95-110.
  • Albert Einstein and Switzerland. Europe, Zurich 1952.
    • 2nd revised and greatly increased edition as: Albert Einstein. A documentary biography. Europe, Zurich 1954
    • 3rd revised edition as: Albert Einstein. Life and work of a genius of our time. Europe, Zurich 1960

As editor

  • The day is breaking. New poems by Waldemar Bonsels , Martin Buber , Hermann Hesse , Stefan Zweig a . a. The Garden of Eden, Dortmund 1921.
  • The new Wunderhorn. German folk songs. Fire, Leipzig 1924.
  • The seasons in the mirror of Swiss folk sayings. Orell Füssli, Zurich 1925.
  • Robert Walser: On the happiness of misfortune and poverty. The most beautiful contemplative passages from Walser's books - the quiet wisdom of a true poet. Benno Schwabe publishing house, Basel 1944.
  • Novalis : Collected Works. 5 volumes. Bühl, Herrliberg 1945/1946.
  • Robert Walser: Jakob von Gunten . A diary . Steinberg-Verlag, Zurich 1950.
  • Robert Walser: Poems in prose . 5 volumes. Kossodo, Geneva / Holle, Darmstadt 1953–1961.
  • Albert Einstein: My worldview. Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main 1955; New edition ibid. 2005, ISBN 3-548-36728-3 .
  • Light time - dark time. In memoriam Albert Einstein. Europe, Zurich 1956; Vieweg, Braunschweig 1986, ISBN 3-528-08934-2 .

literature

Web links