Heinrich Burmester

Heinrich Burmester

Heinrich Burmester (born November 10, 1839 in Niendorf ad St. , † April 24, 1889 in Boitzenburg ) was a Low German writer .

Burmester was the son of a farmer and attended the village school, then the seminar in Ratzeburg . He was employed at the preschool of the Ratzeburg grammar school, but his wages were so poor that he preferred to go to Hamburg, where he taught at private schools. He was unable to complete a degree in philology for lack of money. He worked as a proofreader at Altonaer Merkur until this newspaper ceased to appear. He then moved to Lauenburg / Elbe , where he made a living by making felt slippers.

His first self-published publications of Low German poems caught the attention of the writer Karl Theodor Gaedertz , who gave Burmester a position in Berlin. An offer to take over the management of the Lauenburger Landeszeitung prompted him to give up his permanent position and go to Lauenburg without a new contract. Burmester had made enemies through the realistic descriptions of the needs of the rural population in influential circles, which now prevented his employment. Years of processes followed, which did not lead to any success for Burmester. Desperate about his hopeless material situation, he ended his life by jumping into the Elbe.

Works

• Schaulmester Klein . A picture from life. Self-published, Hamburg 1873.
• Country voices . A collection of Low German poems along with some High German. Self-published, Fitzen 1881.
• The depraved genius, a reflection . Self-published, Lauenburg 1882.
• Hard leash. En Speigel vör Land un Lüd . Two parts. With an introduction by Karl Theodor Gaedertz. Kogge & Fritze, Berlin 1884. Reprint of the 4th edition. Bergedorfer Buchdruckerei, Hamburg-Bergedorf 1986.
• Hans Höltig. A story in Plattdütschen Lann . Rentzel, Berlin 1885.
• Nawerslüd. En Roman ut de Geigenwart . Friedrich, Berlin 1886. New edition. 2006 ISBN 978-3-928874-12-0

literature

• Karl Theodor Gaedertz :  Burmester, Heinrich . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 47, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1903, p. 396 f.
• Gerhard Cordes:  Burmester, Heinrich. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2 , p. 54 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Karl Theodor Gaedertz: Heinrich Burmester, a Low German writer. In memoriam. In: Goedertz: What I found on the way. Wigand, Leipzig 1902, pp. 137-162
• Dieter Möhn: Social criticism and poet life. A memory of Heinrich Burmester (1839–1889). In: Quickborn 82 (1992) issue 1, 13/26