Hans Bethge (poet)

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Hans Bethge

Hans Bethge (born January 9, 1876 in Dessau , † February 1, 1946 in Göppingen , buried in Kirchheim unter Teck ) was a German poet . He made a name for himself above all through his adaptations of oriental poetry .

Life

He was the son of the farmer August Bethe.

Hans Bethge studied modern languages ​​and philosophy in Halle , Erlangen and Geneva . After completing his doctorate, he worked as a teacher in Spain for two years . In 1901 he settled in Berlin as a freelance writer . Hans Bethge was a person of friendship and open to everything beautiful. Many writers and artists of his time were among his friends, including the poet Prince Emil von Schoenaich-Carolath , Karl von Luxburg , Fürst zu Carolath-Beuthen and Prince von Schoenaich-Carolath, the painters Willi Geiger and Karl Hofer and the art historian Julius Meier- Graefe , as well as the Art Nouveau painter Heinrich Vogeler and other artists from the Worpsweder district. Vogeler has decorated three books by Hans Bethge. The sculptor Wilhelm Lehmbruck , whose genius Bethge recognized early on, has portrayed him several times.

Artistic creation

Bethge published several volumes of poetry (mostly love and nature poetry), diaries, travelogues, short stories, essays and dramas. He was a successful editor of modern German and foreign language poetry. Above all, however, his adaptations of classical oriental poetry (from 1907) made him widely known. The first volume, “The Chinese Flute”, had a total circulation of almost 100,000 copies. Gustav Mahler's “ Song of the Earth ” is based on seven poems from the Chinese flute. Bethge's fresh, musical-rhythmic language and his unbound verse inspired more than 180 composers to set settings, including Richard Strauss , Karol Szymanowski , Arnold Schönberg , Anton von Webern , Hanns Eisler , Viktor Ullmann , Gottfried von Eine , Ernst Krenek , Artur Immisch , Ludvig Irgens-Jensen , Paul Graener , Ernst Toch , Fartein Valen and Egon Wellesz .

estate

Hans Bethge's tomb in Kirchheim unter Teck

In Kirchheim unter Teck, Hans Bethges' books, photos and other life testimonies are shown in a permanent exhibition of the Max-Eyth-Haus . The German Literature Archive in Marbach looks after its literary legacy.

Works

  • The silent islands
  • The yellow tomcat illustrated by Leo Prochownik
  • German poetry since Liliencron (anthology)
  • The Poetry of Foreign Countries in Modern Times (Anthology)
  • Songs of the Orient (post-poetry)
  • The Chinese flute. Adaptations of Chinese poetry . Leipzig, Insel Verlag 1907 (1935: Insel-Bücherei 465), ISBN 3-9806799-5-0
  • Peach blossoms from China. Adaptations of Chinese poetry . ISBN 3-935727-06-2
  • Egyptian trip
  • The Armenian nightingale. Adaptations of Nahabed Kutschak and other Armenian poet . ISBN 3-935727-02-X
  • The Turkish songbook. Adaptations of Turkish poetry . ISBN 3-9806799-7-7
  • Japanese spring. Adaptations of Japanese poetry . Leipzig, Insel Verlag 1911 (1936: Insel-Bücherei 492), ISBN 3-935727-00-3
  • Hafez - The songs and chants in post-poems . Leipzig, Insel Verlag 1910 (1939: Insel-Bücherei 492), ISBN 3-935727-03-8
  • Omar Khayyām - The reconstructions of his Rubai'yat . ISBN 3-935727-01-1
  • Sa'di the Wise. The verses of the Persian poet in post-poetry . ISBN 3-9806799-6-9
  • The Persian rose garden. Adaptations of Persian poetry . ISBN 3-935727-01-1
  • The Indian harp. Adaptations of Indian poetry. Adaptations of oriental poetry . ISBN 3-9806799-8-5
  • Arab nights. Adaptations of Arabic poetry . Leipzig: Insel, 1912 ISBN 3-935727-05-4
  • The Asian temple of love. Recitations of the love songs of the peoples of Central Asia . ISBN 3-935727-04-6
  • The Courtisane Jamaica. Novellas. Karlsruhe and Leipzig, Dreililien-Verlag 1911, 157 p., Deckelillustr. Karl Walser (also: special edition, full parchment, head gold cut, cassette with colored, mounted cover illustrations by Karl Walser, numbered 15 copies on van Geldern Bütten - Berlin, Gyldendalscher Verlag, 1922. 2. – 4. thousand, from Morawe & Scheffelt and Universitas Deutsche Verlags AG Berlin)
  • Self portrait. On his fiftieth birthday in: Neues Wiener Journal , 34 (1926) # 11543, 12. (January 10, 1926)

literature

  • Eberhard Gilbert Bethge : Hans Bethge. Life and work. A biography. 3rd enlarged and illustrated edition. Yinyang-Media-Verlag, Kelkheim 2002, ISBN 3-9806799-9-3 .
  • Bernd Löffler: Hans Bethge in Kirchheim / Teck. German Schiller Society, Marbach am Neckar 1991, ISBN 3-928882-60-0 ( tracks 12).
  • Hansjürgen Wille: Hans Bethge on his 50th birthday - on January 9th. In: 8 o'clock evening paper, year 79, January 8, 1926, No. 6, 1st supplement, p. [3]

Web links

Wikisource: Hans Bethge  - Sources and full texts
personal data
SURNAME Bethge, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German poet
DATE OF BIRTH January 9, 1876
PLACE OF BIRTH Dessau
DATE OF DEATH February 1, 1946
Place of death Goeppingen