Johann Friedrich Lange (writer)

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Johann Friedrich Lange (born July 28, 1891 in Berne , † September 10, 1968 in Delmenhorst ) was a Low German author .

Life

Lange was the eldest son of a shoemaker from Berne. The family moved to Delmenhorst in 1898, where the father worked in industry and ran some agriculture. Already in his early youth, Lange developed a keen interest in education that drove him to self-taught studies throughout his life. He also painted and drew, which he also continued into old age. After graduating from school in 1905, he worked in Delmenhorst, initially in a bodywork factory and from 1910 in the sample department of Deutsche Linoleum Werke . From 1912 he attended the drawing school in Bremen on Sundays . There, exhibitions and theater visits became formative educational experiences for him. In the autumn of 1912, a life-threatening illness made him permanently unable to walk, which prevented him from being called up for military service during the First World War . In the upheavals after the end of the war, he became unemployed in 1919. Afterwards, however, through qualification in advanced training courses, he soon got another job as a filing assistant at Deutsche Linoleum Werke.

When the Plattdüütsche Vereen Bremen announced a competition in 1921, this prompted Lange to write his first four-act piece Hochhennut , which received the award of the competition. Despite being pressured to do so, he refused to perform because the work did not seem mature enough to him. Only the following comedy Hogen Besöök , which Lange had written for the "Dorpbühn" founded in 1921 by the innkeeper Adolf Menkens in Hoykenkamp , was performed in 1924 with great success. In the wake of the success of the Low German homeland movement and its playgroups, which were formed in many places, another three world premieres followed in Hoykenkamp in the following three years, in which Lange himself was director and set designer. From 1928 the world premieres of his pieces took place on the Low German stages in Delmenhorst and Oldenburg . The pieces were popular with the public and were quickly re-enacted on other stages. Lange was particularly successful with his pieces during the Second World War and during the first post-war years, since during these times there was a great need for a cheerful balance through comedies that represented intact, future-proof conditions. In 1956 Lange retired and was able to devote himself more to writing plays, painting and, as far as his disability allowed, activities in nature.

Lange remained unmarried and had no offspring. The long estate is owned by Friedrich Looschen's family in Delmenhorst.

Rating

Lange published an extensive literary work that, in addition to small, cheerful and contemplative stories, poems, descriptions of homeland and theater reports that appeared scattered in newspapers, magazines and calendars, a total of 30 Low German comedies, four of which are also available in High German. He also made two Christmas games for children. Of the Low German playwrights of the Oldenburger Land , he is still the most played alongside Karl Bunje . The popularity of his cheerful pieces, which also contain contemplative moments, is probably due to their folk comedy, their easily playable, typically contrasting roles and their simple and memorable situations. Lange saw the need for cheerful pieces for everyone as his focus. His games are conventional and very similar to each other, contain moments of tension and surprise and lead to personal and optimistic solutions through cunning and energy. Thematically, they deal with common peasant marriage and heir disputes, sometimes also using the clichéd urban-rural contrast. In doing so, they do not include past or contemporary events, but exist, for example completely omitting the war, in their own time and transfer their basic constellations into the bourgeoisie .

Stage pieces with a year of premiere (selection)

  • Kopp unner, Kopp över. 1927.
  • Brögam and Unkel. 1928.
  • Deerns ut'n Dbodkroog. 1929.
  • Mandag morning. 1931.
  • Besöök ut de city. 1934.
  • Tomorrow is off. 1936.
  • Great Kinner. 1938.
  • Naverskinner. 1938.
  • Ruth with deers. 1938.
  • De lessde Danz. 1940.
  • De Hochtiedsbidder. 1942.
  • All's twisted. 1944.
  • Hochtied guests. 1949.
  • De lessde holiday day. 1951.
  • Looking back over 75 years of life. Self-published, Delmenhorst. 1966.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ biography of Karl Bunje. In: Hans Friedl u. a. (Ed.): Biographical manual for the history of the state of Oldenburg. Edited on behalf of the Oldenburg landscape. Isensee, Oldenburg 1992, ISBN 3-89442-135-5 , pp. 107-109 ( online ).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Lange, Johann Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Low German author
DATE OF BIRTH July 28, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Berne
DATE OF DEATH September 10, 1968
Place of death Delmenhorst