Kobuk

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Kobuk is a fictional Eskimo poet invented by Helmut Qualtinger .

After the press had barely or hardly reported on the Dutch tour of Qualtinger's university studio , he stole official stationery from the Austrian PEN Club and informed various newspapers about the upcoming visit of the "famous Eskimo poet Kobuk".

Accordingly, on July 3, 1951, reporters and photographers met at the Westbahnhof in Vienna to document the arrival of the author who had apparently been invited by the PEN Club. Qualtinger got out of the train in a fur coat and cap. When asked how he liked Vienna, he answered with “Haas is's!” (“It's hot!”).

A number of newspapers had previously published articles based on the press release. Even afterwards (on July 7th - after the joke was discovered), a report appeared in the Arbeiter-Zeitung about Kobuk's alleged plans to stage two plays in Vienna and to have one filmed, as well as to invite the Wiener Eisrevue to a Greenland tour. Qualtinger had previously acted as Dr. Csokor , then President of the Austrian PEN Club, called the Arbeiter-Zeitung about this.

The action is considered one of the best of Qualtinger's practical jokes - probably inspired by Egon Friedell's fictional Japanese poet Haresu .

A media watch blog named after Qualtinger's media strike has been running at Kobuk.at since 2010 .

Fictional life

The Inuit poet , who was supposedly born in Iviktut on February 29, 1889 - in 1889 there was no February 29, since 1889 was not a leap year - is said to have written several novels and plays , whose peculiar combination of magical realism and Nordic mythology also made him think about the Should have made known the limits of his closer home. Kobuk is said to have been friends with Martin Andersen Nexø , Jack London and Stefan Zweig .

Works

  • Burning Arctic , Berlin, 1927
  • Kolchoz , Zurich, 1941
  • Heia Musch Musch , sled dog novel
  • Northern Lights over Iviktut (supposedly as Song of the Iceman of MGM filmed), Greenland trilogy
  • Plays
    • Abandoned kayak
    • Lonely igloo
    • The Republic of the Penguins , satirical comedy

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Eskimo poet Kobuk arrived in Vienna at the invitation of the Austrian PEN Center . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna July 7, 1951, p. 5 ( Arbeiter-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).

Web links

  • Kobuk.at - online magazine for media criticism in memory of Qualtinger's media prank