Herman Bang

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Herman Bang

Herman Joachim Bang ( April 20, 1857 in Asserballe on the island of Als , † January 29, 1912 in Ogden , Utah ) was a Danish writer and journalist.

Life

Berlin commemorative plaque on the house at Fasanenstrasse 58 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf

Bang grew up in a Protestant vicarage ; his father was a pastor of the Danish People 's Church . At the request of his grandfather, Oluf Lundt Bang, Herman Bang studied law and political science at the University of Copenhagen from 1875 to become a diplomat. However, he gave up his studies in 1877 and, after unsuccessful attempts to make a name for himself as an actor, became a  journalist from 1878 for the leading Copenhagen conservative newspaper »Dagbladet«. In the late autumn of 1879 he was given the opportunity to develop a new form of feuilleton or, as he himself put it, "to write in a new and confused way" at the "Nationaltidende", a new newspaper aimed more at civil servants and business people. Under the heading “Varying Themes” (“Vekslende Themer”), he wrote more than 200 Sunday feuilletons over four years about just about everything that happened in King Christian IX's Copenhagen. happened. His role model here was the French culture feuilleton of the Second Empire with its colorful mixture of literary criticism and adventure journalism, which also included travelogues, hikes in nature or in the big city and portraits of interesting people.

Herman Bang was soon the most important Danish journalist of his time, but also very controversial. He lived the life of a dandy , staged himself as a total work of art following the example of Huysmans and Wilde ; He also showed his homosexual tendencies publicly, which earned him some hostility and isolation in Denmark. His first novel »Haabløse Slægter«, 1880 (Eng. »Hopeless Sexes«, 1900) caused a scandal and was confiscated for »immorality«. Bang suffered from depression and, as a result of his drug addiction, also from epileptic seizures .

An article in a Norwegian newspaper in 1886, in which he had made derogatory remarks about the German imperial family, abruptly ended his hopes of starting a career as a staff member at the posh liberal newspaper Berliner Tageblatt . He was expelled from Germany, traveling first to Meiningen , then to Vienna and finally to Prague . During this time, under poor circumstances, he created some of his literary works (including the novels »Am Weg« [1886 in Vienna] and »Stuck« (also known as: »Collapse«, 1887). He lived in Vienna and Prague with the German actor Max Eisfeld (1863-1935), whom he had met and fallen in love with at the Hoftheater in Meiningen. Bang initially continued to depend on journalism to earn a living, alongside readings, lectures and theater productions. His novels and short stories only found their way after 1890 He gained increasing recognition and eventually gained fame throughout Europe. He is now considered one of the leading exponents of literary impressionism and his works were very influential into the 1930s. His literary works were published in German by the Verlag von Samuel Fischer .

Many lecture tours have taken him through Europe and the USA . On one of these speaking tours, on the train traveling from New York to San Francisco , Bang suffered a stroke and died at the Ogden Clinic in Utah. He was buried at Vestre Kirkegård in Copenhagen; the grave is anonymous but identifiable (under a copper beech ).

Thomas Mann wrote in a letter in 1902: "Now I'm constantly reading Herman Bang, to whom I feel a deep kinship." His son Klaus Mann describes Bang's last hours in his story "Journey to the End of the Night," as does Friedrich Sieburg in "Death of a poet".

On November 19, 2021, a Berlin memorial plaque was unveiled at his former place of residence, Berlin-Wilmersdorf , Fasanenstraße 58 .

factories

Bang's first publications were of an essayistic nature, until he presented his first novel Hopeless Sexes in 1880 , which was withdrawn in 1881 by the Supreme Court ( Højesteret ) for obscenity (edition 1500). A second edition (edition 2000), revised and amended by Bang himself, appeared in 1884; this became the template for all German editions that go back to a single German translation. A third, definitive (with orthographic corrections) edition appeared in 1905 (edition 1000). Only the second edition was translated into German by an anonymous translator, while the banned first edition from 1880 was first translated into German in 2013.

Bang was initially attached to naturalism and was influenced by Émile Zola , Henrik Ibsen and Charles Darwin . Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev and Jonas Lie are also literary role models.

In his further artistic development, Bang became the creator of Danish Impressionism and the representative of Danish decadence . Bang masterfully portrayed the lives of "insignificant" people and lonely and isolated women.

  • pariahs. 1878 (only available as a manuscript, first edition by Dag Heede 2002).
  • Realism and Realism. 1879
  • Hverdagskampe and Du and jeg. 1879
  • Haabløse Slægter. Novel. 1880, 2nd edition 1894, 3rd edition 1904. German: Hopeless generations. 1900. New edition: Man's Schwarm Verlag, Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-86300-147-6 . Translated by Gabriele Haefs.
  • Faedra. 1883. German: Countess Urn. 1905
  • Eccentric novelists. Novellen 1885. German: Eccentric and quiet existences. 1964. Reissue: Eccentric Existences. stories and reports. Translated by Ulrich Sonnenberg. Island, Frankfurt a. M. 2007, ISBN 978-3-458-17341-0 .
  • Silent existents. Stories. 1886. German: Eccentric and quiet existences. 1964
  • Danserinden Frøken Irene Holm. Story 1886. German: Irene Holm. 1911
  • Ved Vejen. Novel. 1886. German: On the way. 1898. Manesse, Zurich 2006, ISBN 3-7175-2116-0 .
  • stucco Roman 1887. German: Stucco. 1982. Manesse, Zurich 2005, ISBN 3-7175-2074-1 .
  • Tine. Novel. 1889. German: Translated by Ingeborg and Aldo Keel. Manesse, Zurich 2011, ISBN 978-3-7175-2240-9 .
  • En dejlig day. Narrative. 1890. German: A glorious day. 1921
  • Ti Aar - Erindringer og Hændelser 1891. German: Changing themes / Ten years - memories and events. Translated by Dieter Fassnacht. Norderstedt 2011, ISBN 978-3-8448-6761-9 .
  • Ludvigsbakke. Novel. 1896. German: Ludwigshöhe. 1908. German: Ludvigshöhe . Novel. Translated from the Danish by Ingeborg and Aldo Keel. Manesse, Zurich 2014.
  • Det hvide Hus. Novel. 1898. German: The White House. 1910. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt a. M. 1979. Insel Paperback 3256 along with: Det graa Hus / Das Graue Haus 2007, ISBN 978-3-458-34956-3 .
  • Udvalgte Fortællinger . 1899. Narrative. German: Your Highness. Translated by Ulrich Sonnenberg. Insel, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-458-19344-9 .
  • Sommerglæder. Narrative. 1902. German: Summer joys. 1996. Manesse, Zurich 2007, ISBN 978-3-7175-2126-6 .
  • Mikaël. Novel. 1904. German: Michael. Men's Swarm, Hamburg 2012 [Reprint] = 1926, ISBN 978-3-86300-063-9 . Translated by Julia Koppel.
  • De uden Fædreland. Roman 1906. German: The Fatherlandless. 1912
  • From the folder. novellas. Translated by Julia Koppel. Bondy, Berlin 1908.
  • De fire Djevle. Stories. 1890. German: The four devils. S. Fischer, Berlin 1897. Translated by Ernst Brausewetter.
  • Vekslende Themer (reports and essays in the Nationaltidende 1879-1884). Copenhagen 2007. Edited by Sten Rasmussen and Det Danske Sprog- og Litteraturselskab. Critical first edition in Danish. ISBN 978-87-7876-465-2 (4 volumes).
  • Changing themes / Ten years - memories and events. (Selection from »Vekslende Themer«, »Ten Years« unabridged). Norderstedt 2011, ISBN 978-3-8448-6761-9 . Translated and commented by Dieter Faßnacht.

Edition:

Work edition in unabridged, annotated German translation by Dieter Faßnacht:

  • Herman Bang. Novels and short stories 1–10
    • Volume 1: »Genders Without Hope« . Norderstedt 2019. ISBN 978-3-7494-7542-1 (also available as an e-book ).
    • Volume 2: »Phädra (Countess Urn)«, »Stuck«. Norderstedt 2018. ISBN 978-3-7460-5829-0 . (also available as an e-book).
    • Volume 3: »Tine«, »Ludvigsbakke«. Norderstedt 2016. ISBN 978-3-7412-2005-0 (also available as an e-book).
    • Volume 4: "The White House", "The Gray House", "Summer Pleasures" Norderstedt 2014. ISBN 978-3-7386-6658-8 (also available as an e-book).
    • Volume 5: »Mikaël«; »Ohne Vaterland« , Norderstedt 2014. ISBN 978-3-7357-9855-8 (also available as an e-book).
    • Volume 6: "Parias" - Dark Melodies - Pastors - Eccentric Novellas , Norderstedt 2012. ISBN 978-3-8448-4384-2 (also available as an e-book).
    • Volume 7: Silent existences - Under the yoke , Norderstedt 2012. ISBN 978-3-8448-3709-4 (also available as an e-book).
    • Volume 8: The Four Devils - Life and Death - The Ravens - Strange Stories , Norderstedt 2013. ISBN 978-3-7322-0802-9 (also available as an e-book)
    • Volume 9: novellas and sketches in newspapers and magazines 1878-1886 , Norderstedt 2012. ISBN 978-3-8448-2256-4 (also available as an e-book).
    • Volume 10: novellas and sketches in newspapers and magazines 1887-1912 , Norderstedt 2012. ISBN 978-3-8448-2884-9 (also available as an e-book).

film adaptations

  • 1911: De fire djævle. DK 1911, Director: Alex Christians, Robert Dinesen (film adaptation of the novel "The Four Devils")
  • 1916: Vingarne (German title: Icarus). SWE 1916, director: Mauritz Stiller (film adaptation of "Michael")
  • 1924: Michael . D 1924, director: Carl Theodor Dreyer
  • 1928: Four Devils . USA 1928, Director: Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (German sound film version 1930)
  • 1940: Sommerglæder. DK 1940, director: Svend Methling (film adaptation of "Summer Pleasures")
  • 1964: Tine. DK 1964, directed by Knud Leif Thomsen
  • 1988: Ved Vejen (English title: Katinka). DK/SWE 1988 director: Max von Sydow (film adaptation of "Am Weg")

TV Movies:

literature

The standard biography (5 volumes) is only available in Danish:

  • Harry Jacobsen: The Unknown Herman Bang . H.Hagerup København 1954 (volume 1)
  • Harry Jacobsen: The Word of Resignation . H. Hagerup København 1957 (volume 2)
  • Harry Jacobsen: Den miskent Herman Bang . H.Hagerup København 1961 (volume 3)
  • Harry Jacobsen: The Tragic Herman Bang . H.Hagerup København 1966 (volume 4)
  • Harry Jacobsen: New Studies . H.Hagerup København 1974 (volume 5)
  • Dag Heede, Knud Arne Jürgensen, Torben Lund, Gert Posselt, Sten Rasmussen, Tove Thage: Livsbilleder. Photographic portrait of Herman Bang . Syddansk Universitetsforlag 2014. ISBN 978-87-7674-743-5 .
  • Lothar Müller: Herman Bang . Deutscher Kunstverlag Berlin/Munich 2011. ISBN 978-3-422-07042-4 .
  • Martina Chmelarz-Moswitzer: Mimesis and Dissolution of Form. Visual artists and visual arts in the works of Scandinavian authors Herman Bang, Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg. Vienna: Edition Praesens . 2005. (= Vienna Studies on Scandinavian Studies; 13) ISBN 3-7069-0335-0 .
  • Claudia Gremler: "Far away in the north of Denmark, a brother". Thomas Mann and Herman Bang. A literary search for clues (= Palaestra. Vol. 320). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2003, ISBN 3-525-20593-7 digitized
  • Josef Kleinheinrich: Copenhagen panoramas around 1900. Variants of the big city apperception and the poetic transformation of big city experiences in the journalistic oeuvre of Herman Bangs. Kleinheinrich, Munster 1986. ISBN 3-88117-700-0 .
  • Antje Wischmann: Aesthetes and décadents. An investigation of characters based on selected prose texts by the authors H. Bang, JP Jacobsen, RM Rilke and H. v. Hofmannsthal (= European University Publications Series 18. Comparative Literature. Vol. 58). Lang, Frankfurt am Main and others 1991, ISBN 3-631-43537-1 .
  • Raimund Wolfert: Herman Bang and Berlin , in: Capri. Journal of Gay History, #22 (August 1996), pp. 22–30.
  • Raimund Wolfert: "Max Eisfeld - Herman Bang's great love" , in: Forum Homosexuality and Literature 1998, Issue 33, pp. 5-42. ISSN  0931-4091 .
  • Joachim Kersten (ed.): »Herman Bang – A poet's last journey. Three Stories by Herman Bang, Klaus Mann and Friedrich Sieburg«, Arche Literaturverlag, Hamburg/Zurich, 2009 ( ISBN 978-3-7160-2609-0 )

web links

Commons : Herman Bang  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

itemizations

  1. ↑ a b Sten Rasmussen, Preface to »Vekslende Themer«, Reitzels Forlag, København 2006.
  2. ↑ a b Joachim Kersten, Preface to: »Herman Bang – A poet's last journey. Three stories by Herman Bang, Klaus Mann and Friedrich Sieburg”, Arche Literaturverlag, Hamburg/Zurich, 2009
  3. ↑ Herman Bang: Changing Themes/Ten Years - Memoirs and Events. Norderstedt 2011. Translated by Dieter Fassnacht. ISBN 978-3-8448-6761-9 )
personal data
SURNAME Bang, Herman
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bang, Herman Joachim (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish writer and journalist
BIRTH DATE April 20, 1857
PLACE OF BIRTH Asserballe on the island of Als
DATE OF DEATH January 29, 1912
PLACE OF DEATH Ogden , Utah