Giwi Margwelashvili

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Giwi Margwelaschwili (2008)

Giwi Margwelaschwili ( Georgian : გივი მარგველაშვილი; * December 14, 1927 in Berlin ; † March 13, 2020 in Tbilisi ) was a German-Georgian writer and philosopher .

Life

Youth in Germany

He was born the son of the Georgian intellectual Titus von Margwelaschwili , who fled to Germany in 1921 after the occupation of Georgia by the Red Army . From 1939 to 1942 he attended the Fichte-Gymnasium in Berlin-Wilmersdorf , from 1942 to 1945 the Moltke-Realgymnasium in Berlin-Charlottenburg . There he joined the swing youth persecuted by the Nazis . In 1944 he fled with his father from the advancing Red Army, first to Italy , then to Salzburg , but eventually returned to Berlin. There he attended the Bismarck High School in Wilmersdorf until 1946 .

Imprisonment and abduction

After the war the family lived in the British sector of Berlin. At the end of February 1946 Giwi and his father were lured to East Berlin by the Soviet secret service NKVD , arrested and locked up in the basement bunkers of a Soviet headquarters in Berlin-Weißensee and in an interim storage facility from February to April 1946 . He was then taken to the Soviet special camp No. 7 Sachsenhausen . While the father was deported to Tbilisi and shot there after eight months of interrogation and torture as an alleged traitor , Giwi was able to leave the camp after 18 months. However, he was not allowed to return to West Berlin . He had to settle with relatives in Tbilisi on the instructions of the NKVD.

Germanist in Georgia

Margwelashvili learned Georgian and Russian , graduated from high school. From 1947 to 1952 he studied German at the State University of Tbilisi , then was an aspirant at the German studies. From 1957 to 1970 he taught German and English at the State Institute for Foreign Languages . In the 1960s he wrote short prose in German, his great novels Muzal. A Georgian novel , The Great Correction, The Kantakt and the fantastic Kapitän Wakusch trilogy, which only appeared in Germany after 1990. He also published - influenced by Heidegger and Husserl - philosophical writings on phenomenology .

In 1969, for the first time in 22 years, he was allowed to travel to the GDR as a translator for the Rustaveli Theater in Tbilisi . In 1970 he published his first academic paper on the role of language in Heidegger's philosophy . In 1971 he was appointed to the Institute for Philosophy of the Georgian Academy of Sciences and visited the dissident and songwriter Wolf Biermann in Berlin. That is why he was banned from traveling until 1987. In 1972 he met Heinrich Böll , who was impressed by his unpublished autobiography Captain Wakusch . Böll campaigned for the travel ban to be lifted, but was unsuccessful.

Return to Berlin

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 he has been visiting Germany regularly and has become an integral part of the poetry and painting scene in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg . In 1990 he moved to his hometown as a scholarship holder of the DAAD and the Heinrich Böll Foundation , where he took up his permanent residence in Berlin-Wedding in 1993 . In December 1994 he received German citizenship and an honorary grant from the Federal President .

In 1991 his first autobiographical work, Muzal , was published. A Georgian novel , in Germany. More novels, philosophical commentaries on classical authors and poems followed. Many of his works have not yet been published. In September 2007 the novel Officer Pembry was published as the prelude to a work edition.

Back in Georgia

After 21 years in Berlin, Margwelashvili moved his permanent residence to Tbilisi in November 2011. There he continued to work on novels and essays. In 2015 he received Georgian citizenship.

Margwelaschwili was married to the writer and Germanist Naira Gelaschwili from 1970 to 1980 . His daughter Anna Margwelaschwili (* 1975) is also a Germanist. Margwelashvili died in Tbilisi in March 2020 at the age of 92.

Writing idiosyncrasy

The central theme in Margwelashvili's work is the philosophy of writing, including the philosophy of reading and, more generally, of receiving, with the focus almost always on the effect of writing on human life and thought. Typical is the link on the one hand with political philosophy and on the other hand with practical philosophy (ethics, theories of fate, theories of action and banal philosophies of life). Every now and then the philosophy of historiography is included. The problem of integration and cultural exchange is only focused on in the great novels as a secondary theme of the philosophy of writing.

Margwelaschwili developed a philosophy and aesthetic that focuses on the changeability of the world in the 40s of the Soviet Union. The difference between the book and the real world as well as the primacy of the viewer in both worlds were his central themes.

His humor and his creative-philosophical use of word and sound games are valued in his style.

Awards

In 1995 Margwelaschwili was town clerk in Rheinsberg and was awarded the Brandenburg Literature Prize. He became a member of the PEN Center Germany and received a grant from the Federal President. In 1994 he held the so-called poetics professorship at the University of Bamberg . The Berlin Academy of the Arts awarded him the Berlin Art Prize for his life's work. In 2005 he received the Gustav-Regulator-Preis of the city of Merzig , in 2006 the Goethe-Medal of the Goethe-Institut . He was an honorary doctor of the Tbilisi State University (1998) and an honorary member of the German-Caucasian Society. On November 17, 2008 Giwi Margwelaschwili was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon. In 2013 he received the German-Georgian Culture Prize, which was awarded for the first time and has since been named after Giwi Margwelaschwili. Also in 2013 he received the Italo Svevo Prize .

Writings and works

  • Sjužetnoe vremja i vremja ekzistencii [The subject time and the time of existence] . Mecniereba, Tbilisi 1976.
  • Aksiologiceskoe znacenie razlicija mezdu ekzistencialnym i kategorialnym v chaideggerovskom ontologiceskom ucenii [The existential and the categorical in Martin Heidegger's ontology] . Mecniereba, Tbilisi 1979.
  • Muzal: a Georgian novel . Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 1991, ISBN 3-458-16192-9 .
  • The great correction , volume 1 The evil chapter: novel . Rütten & Loening, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-352-00418-8 .
  • Captain Wakusch: autobiographical novel . Volume 1 In Deuxiland . Südverlag, Konstanz 1991, ISBN 3-87800-012-X , revised new edition. Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-940426-65-9 .
  • Captain Wakusch: autobiographical novel . Volume 2 Sachsenhäuschen . Südverlag, Konstanz 1992, ISBN 3-87800-013-8 , revised new edition. Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-940426-66-6 .
  • Auditoriums: a historical fairy tale . Typed, authors' college, Berlin 1991.
  • The un-thrown glove: ontotextological attempts to ward off blows of fate in the world of books and poetry . Rütten & Loening, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-352-00437-4 .
  • The uncertainty as an ontotextological problem. In: Hilmar Hoffmann , Dieter Kramer (Ed.): That unsettled Europe . Anton Hain, Frankfurt am Main 1992, ISBN 3-445-08584-6 .
  • Life in ontotext: poetry - poetics - philosophy . Federchenverlag, Neubrandenburg 1993, ISBN 3-910170-10-2 .
  • Poetry worlds - real worlds . Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, Bamberg 1994 (with Carsten Gansel , Heinz Gockel)
  • A town clerk under lock and key . Kurt Tucholsky Memorial, Rheinsberg 1995.
  • Fenomenologiceskie kody soznanija . Center for Cultural Relations of Georgia Caucasion House, Tbilisi 1998.
  • Yes - knižnyj personaž / I am a book person . Centr Kulturnych Vzaimosvjazej Kavkazkij Dom, Tbilisi 1998.
  • Problema kulturnogo mira v ekzistencialnoj ontologii M. Chaideggera . Center for Cultural Relations of Georgia Caucasion House, Tbilisi 1998.
  • Kapitani Vakusi . Kavkasiuri Saxli, Tbilisi NN, ISBN 99928-71-67-9 .
  • Mucali . Diogene, Tiflis 2001, ISBN 99928-59-93-8 .
  • Captain Wakusch: autobiographical novel . Volume 3: Trace of a cosmologically lost person . Caucasian House, Tbilisi 2006, ISBN 99928-71-86-5 .
  • Officer Pembry . Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-940426-08-6 .
  • Auditoriums . Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-935843-90-4 .
  • About the death of an old reader. Narratives . Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-940426-14-7 .
  • The Kantakt. From the reading life experiences of a town clerk . Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-940426-19-2 .
  • Philosophy in action. About Merab Mamardashvili. In: Sense and Form . Pp. 598-602.
  • The amazed wall newspaper reader. Ontotextological essay. Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-940426-33-8 .
  • The happiness of reading love. Gollenstein Verlag, Saarbrücken 2011, ISBN 978-3-938823-85-9 .
  • Escape aesthetic novella. Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-943167-01-6 .
  • Author our. A reader. Edited by Kristina Wengorz and Jörg Sundermeier. Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-943167-68-9 .
  • The reading life. Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-95732-072-8 (With texts from "Life in Ontotext" and "The Unpublished Glove" as well as unpublished texts. In each individual copy, the texts and illustrations by Zubinski are randomly sorted, each of the books is therefore unique).
  • The Medea von Kolchis in Kolchos , Roman, Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-95732-231-9 .
  • Eine Völkerfriedensstiftung , narrative, Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2017 (pure e-book)
  • Worlds of meaning. Giwi Margwelaschwili in conversation with Jörg Sundermeier , Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2017 ISBN 978-3-95732-239-5 .

literature

  • Alexander Kartosia: Giwi Margwelaschwili - a German-speaking writer from Georgia. In: Bulletin of the Berliner Georgische Gesellschaft e. V. 4, 1995, 40, p. 1.
  • Steffi Chotiwari-Jünger: The book characters have a surprising life of their own. In: Bulletin of the Berliner Georgische Gesellschaft e. V. 1 (1992) 11, pp. 4-5.
  • Ekkehard Maaß: Man is a text and you can read it here . In: Berliner Zeitung . December 13, 1997
  • Helmuth Schönauer : anarchy of writing. In: cultural elements. Bolzano. No. 114, April 2014, p. 16.

Web links

Commons : Giwi Margvelashvili  - collection of images, videos and audio files

References and comments

  1. ↑ German-Georgian author Margwelaschwili ist tot , wdr.de, published and accessed on March 13, 2020
  2. ^ Giwi Margwelaschwili in Deutschlandradio Kultur, broadcast manuscript from November 3, 2013 (PDF)
  3. ↑ Achim Engelberg : In Stalin's long shadow. The German-Georgian Giwi Margwelaschwili - writer, philosopher, jazz fan, mediator between East and West . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of July 24, 2015, p. 41.
  4. ^ A b Giwi Margwelaschwili: Givi Margvelashvili - Life
  5. ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung: Captain, your watch is over. Retrieved March 21, 2020 .
  6. ^ Goethe Institute: Giwi Margwelaschwili Prize 2017
  7. ↑ Jörg Sundermeier: Preface , in: Giwi Margwelaschwili: worlds of meaning , p. 5ff.
  8. ↑ Self-presentation in: Conversation with Giwi Margwelaschwili. In: Carsten Gansel (Ed.): Giwi Margwelaschwili - Life in Ontotext. Poetry - Poetics - Philosophy . Neubrandenburg 1993, pp. 23-44.
  9. ↑ Zaal Andronikashvili: Collective integrity as an obstacle to integration. Aluda in the mirror of Muzal . In: monthly books. Vol. 97, no. 2, Integrity (Summer, 2005), pp. 289-307; Work analysis.
  10. ↑ Heinz Gockel (Ed.): Gedichtwelten - Realwelten. In: Footnotes on recent German literature. Issue 28, Bamberg 1994. Especially the articles by Alexander Kartosia: The prose of Giwi Margwelaschwili. (Pp. 33-48). And from Helmut Glück: Giwi Margwelaschwili. Pp. 9-11.
  11. ^ Goethe Institute: Giwi Margwelaschwili Prize 2017
  12. ↑ The bridgehead grabs its head. In: FAZ . , December 14, 2012, p. 32.
  13. ^ Stumbling block language in FAZ of December 14, 2017, page 10
personal data
SURNAME Margwelashvili, Giwi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Margwelaschwili, Giwi; მარგველაშვილი, გივი (Georgian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Georgian writer and philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH December 14, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH March 13, 2020
Place of death Tbilisi