Norbert Conrad Kaser

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Norbert C. Kaser, photographed by Klaus Gasperi .

Norbert Conrad Kaser , in self- portraits also norbert c. kaser , NC Kaser , (born April 19, 1947 in Brixen , South Tyrol ; † August 21, 1978 in Bruneck ) was a poet and writer from South Tyrol. His literary works and pamphlets contributed significantly to the establishment of New South Tyrolean literature in the late 1960s . Large parts of Kaser's work were not published until after his death. The biography and work were posthumously distributed throughout the German-speaking area.

Life

Norbert C. Kaser was born on April 19, 1947 as an illegitimate child of Paula Thum in Brixen. He grew up in Bruneck because his stepfather Franz Kaser worked as a porter in the Moessmer cloth factory. After completing compulsory school, he attended the humanistic grammar school in Bruneck, but failed in 1966 with the high school diploma. Then he left the Pustertal and moved to Laas in Vinschgau, where he worked as a secondary school teacher. It was during this time that his first poems were written. After joining the Capuchin convent in Bruneck in 1968 and leaving in 1969, he passed the Matura examination on the third attempt.

In the same year he caused a sensation at a study conference organized by Gerhard Mumelter for the South Tyrolean student body in Bressanone, when he went hard on prewar South Tyrolean literature (“99% of our South Tyrolean writers would be best never born, because of me they can still go home today Bite the grass so as not to cause further harm. ”) And calls for the South Tyrolean coat of arms, the Tyrolean eagle, to be“ plucked like a gigger ”. The result was a storm of indignation in all the media.

In autumn 1969 he enrolled to study art history at the University of Vienna . The following year he traveled to Norway for two months, where he made his living as a community worker. Thereupon he broke off his studies in Vienna and returned to his homeland in March 1971. There he took on representation positions in various schools in the Bolzano and Merano area (Vernuer near Riffian , Flaas near Jenesien ). He also wrote time-sensitive columns in local South Tyrolean daily newspapers. In the next two years he traveled a lot, including Barcelona and Venice .

Norbert C. Kaser was heavily addicted to alcohol, especially in the last years of his life. Because of this, he stayed in hospitals and mental hospitals several times. Two years before his death, he became a member of the Italian Communist Party and resigned from the Catholic Church. Kaser made several trips and underwent a cure in Bad Berka in the GDR . On August 21, 1978, he died in the hospital in Bruneck as a result of liver cirrhosis. His last poem I get a child describes the decline of his body shortly before death.

reception

Kick-off in the political life of South Tyrol

A few weeks after Kaser's death, Alexander Langer launched a call for the formation of a non-party opposition list in the Südtiroler Volkszeitung , referring to the dissident's demise (“The fate of Norbert C. Kasers is symbolic for many in South Tyrol.”) The name Neue Linke / Nuova Sinistra made it into the South Tyrolean parliament . In 1980 Langer remarked in a newspaper article:

“Fu al funerale di Norbert che decisi di tornare nel Sudtirolo, che non si volevano altri morti, che bisognava fare qualcosa. [It was at the funeral of Norbert when I decided to return to South Tyrol, that no further deaths were needed, that something had to be done.] "

- Alexander Langer : South Tyrolean regional and later European politician (Greens) 1980 in the magazine Lotta Continua .

Aftermath in the German-speaking literature business

Most of Kaser's literary work was only published posthumously in the course of the 1980s and 1990s by various Austrian publishers, which meant that it was distributed throughout the German-speaking region beyond South Tyrol. The Austrian cultural journalist Hans Haider obtained the first publications with the support of the Tyrolean illustrator and patron of culture Paul Flora , who had already supported Kaser during his lifetime. Kaser's work was then noted for the first time in the Austrian and West German feature sections and received extremely positive reviews:

"For me, the first volume from the South Tyrolean author Norbert C. Kaser (...) is the most important new publication from an Austrian publisher in the field of fiction."

- Erich Hackl in Wiener Tagebuch No. 2/1980.

"Posthumously Norbert C. Kaser still has the poetic power to become a star of the first order."

- Rolf Schneider in the weekly magazine DIE ZEIT , January 4, 1980.

From 1988 to 1991, a complete edition of Kaser's works in three volumes was published by the Innsbruck Haymon Verlag with the participation of Hans Haider, for which the Brenner Archive research institute at the University of Innsbruck was responsible (see list of literature). The individual volumes were compiled and edited by literary scholars Sigurd Paul Scheichl (Volume 1: Poetry), Erika Wimmer (Volume 2: Prose) and Benedikt Sauer (Volume 2: Prose and Volume 3: Letters). Haider was awarded the Austrian State Prize for Literary Criticism in 1991 for his commitment to the publication and distribution of Kaser's work .

A large part of Kaser's posthumously published texts are based on the extensive collection of Kaser's childhood friend Klaus Gasperi , to whom Kaser had entrusted copies during his lifetime. Gasperi's collection forms the core of the Kaser estate, which was administered by the Brenner Archive research institute at the University of Innsbruck as part of the editing work on Kaser's work, until the Südtiroler Sparkasse Foundation bought it in 2007 and made it available to the municipality of Bruneck as a permanent loan .

Parallel to the publication of the first Kaser texts from the estate, the artistic and scientific preoccupation with Kaser's biography began. Kaser's childhood friend from Bruneck, Ivo Barnabò Micheli , made the first film about the fate of the writer in 1984 under the title Einklemmt. Notes for a film about Norbert C. Kaser . In 1997 Benedikt Sauer published a comprehensive biography of Kaser, which is considered a standard work (see literature).

Kaser's extensive reception supported the foundation of the NC Kaser Poetry Prize in 1988 (on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of his death) , which was brought into being by the Buchwürmer Association (in Lana, South Tyrol) together with the two artists Paul Flora and Markus Vallazza . It is endowed with around 10,000 euros and has been awarded every two years since then.

Kaser's texts have also been translated into Italian and Czech since the 1980s (see translations).

One of 27 steles in memory of nc kaser

Aftermath in the hometown of Bruneck

With the subsequent publication of the works and the resulting supraregional appreciation for Kaser in the German-speaking literary business, the deceased poet was now also posthumously an important "child of the." City ”. Kaser's long-time friend and companion Klaus Gasperi said in a radio interview in 2015:

“We were very badly viewed, including Kaser, who is of course high-priced today and where every Brunecker is his friend today, posthumously. [...] He was treated very badly, was kicked out of inns. "

- Klaus Gasperi : Kaser's childhood friend in a radio interview for SWR 2015.

In 1997 the municipal administration of Bruneck announced the naming of the local city library after Norbert C. Kaser. However, a corresponding lettering was never attached to the building. The library building, which was newly occupied in 2013, bears the name LibriKa in allusion to Kaser . In 2005, Kaser was given an artistic monument by the city administration on Rathausplatz , consisting of rusted steel steles into which text fragments by the author were engraved; In addition, a self-published volume of poetry with the texts used was published. On the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the city of Bruneck in 2006, the historian Hannes Obermair characterized Kaser as “ Dylan Thomas von Bruneck, who describes experiences of loss in the transition to the second industrialization and a loving farewell to the small Catholic town and its dignitaries and their tricks delivers ". In 2017, on the occasion of Kaser's 70th birthday, a statue was unveiled on the town hall square of Bruneck; At the same time, the city library published a book with texts by South Tyrolean authors who deal creatively with the person Kaser.

The official commemorative initiatives of the Bruneck city administration have been criticized several times: Kaser's close companion Klaus Gasperi commented on the unveiling of the second Kaser sculpture in 2017: “Some contemporaries are now clearly suppressing what used to be a thing. (...) All those who criticized him [Kaser] at the time are silent. Yes - now they are erecting another memorial to him on Rathausplatz! That would be something for him. Norbert would have something to say again! ”In the same context, the Brunico-born historian Joachim Gatterer described sculptures and monuments as“ unsuitable ”for Kaser, since Kaser himself made fun of monuments in poems ( alpenjaeger and von die denkmaelern ). A Kaser monument in Bruneck can therefore only be "authentic" "in that it embodies the misunderstanding that had existed between Kaser and the bourgeois elite of his hometown."

To characterize the Kaser texts as a “loving swan song” on the occasion of the Bruneck city anniversary in 2006, the Austrian writer Erich Hackl remarked a decade later: “This is the dresser type of locking a stubborn man in the petting zoo post mortem.” The Tyrolean writer Hans Augustin criticized the volume published by the Bruneck City Library in 2017 with texts by South Tyrolean authors about Kaser as follows: “The questions that were asked as a kind of attunement whether Kaser would be a vegan today, a nerd, a poetry slammer, a resister the airport or the Messner Mountain Museums, etc., pass by the people Kaser. The last word in this collection is: SPECULATION. This is exactly why Kaser did not give the Brixen speech. "

Literary style

Kaser's work is characterized by an original language (in consistently lower case) and a dissectingly precise power of observation. His critical, uncomfortable attitude created numerous enemies for the author in South Tyrolean society in the 1960s and 1970s. Kaser revolted against political grievances as well as against the narrow-mindedness and intolerance of his fellow human beings.

Works

Self-made volumes of poetry:

  • rehearsal. 1967/1968.
  • orations with poetry. 1968.
  • 20 collages & 20 forze. 1968.
  • sermon fragment. 1968.
  • miniatures & hymns. 1969.
  • Poetry collection without title (“fanciulla romana”). 1969.
  • Aquarium. 1969.
  • selection 68/69. 1970.
  • clapping sounds from the gloomy province & metropolis. Insulting the host or colorful Austria illustrated. 1970.

Magazines in which Kaser published from 1967:

  • the bridge (Bolzano), Dolomites (Bolzano), contacts (Innsbruck), New Ways (Vienna), skolast (Bolzano), writing on the wall (Innsbruck), Alto Adige (Bolzano), horizons (Innsbruck), the window (Innsbruck), Arunda (Schlanders), Die Presse (Vienna).

Anthologies in which Kaser published texts during his lifetime:

  • Hot spots - contemporary literature 6th anthology of young South Tyrolean authors. Edited by Hermann Kuprian . Karlsruhe 1970.
  • New literature from South Tyrol. An anthology of the South Tyrolean student body. Edited by Gerhard Mumelter . Bolzano 1970.
  • Word in the mountains. Literature from Tyrol. Episode 12 , ed. by Anna Maria Achenrainer , Helmut L. Demel and Hubert Senn. Innsbruck 1970.

Posthumously published:

Posthumously published translations:

  • (Italian) Norbert C. Kaser , translations by Giancarlo Mariani, with a foreword by Peter Litturi. Nuovo Studio, Bolzano 1983.
  • (cze.) mestské rytiny. City prints and other short prose from NCKaser. Translations by Sabine Eschgfäller. Listy Verlag 2008.
  • (Italian) Toni Colleselli (Ed.): norbert c. kaser: rancore mi cresce nel ventre. Poesia & prosa 1968–1978. Un'antologia. Translations by Werner Menapace, with a foreword by Lorenza Rega. Alpha Beta, Meran 2017, ISBN 978-88-7223-288-0 .

Awards

During his lifetime
  • 1969: Invitation to the 20th Austrian Youth Culture Week in Innsbruck
  • 1976: Austrian State Scholarship for Literature (as the first South Tyrolean)
Posthumous appreciations
  • 1988: Establishment of the NC Kaser Poetry Prize by Paul Flora , Markus Vallazza and the Lana Book Worms Association
  • 1997: Announcement of the naming of the Bruneck City Library after Norbert C. Kaser. However, the building never had a corresponding lettering. The new library building, which was moved into in 2013, bears the name LibriKa in allusion to Kaser .
  • 2005: Unveiling of an artistic monument on the town hall square of Bruneck in memory of Norbert C. Kaser
  • 2017: Unveiling of a statue of Norbert C. Kasers on the town hall square of Bruneck
  • 2018: Naming of the primary school in Flaas after Norbert C. Kaser

Literature (chronological)

  • Eberhard Sauermann, Rolf Selbmann (eds.): Neuburg Kaser Symposium . Haymon Verlag , Innsbruck 1993, ISBN 3-85218-134-8
  • Benedikt Sauer : norbert c. kaser. A biography . Haymon, Innsbruck 1997, ISBN 3-85218-234-4
  • Erich Hackl : The revolutionary in the provincial nest. A new selection pays tribute to the South Tyrolean writer who died early, in Konkret , H. 5, 2017, p. 52.
  • Educational committees Jenesien / Laas / Riffian-Kuens (eds.): Class meeting with nc kaser , (3 booklets), Flaas / Laas / Vernuer 2018.

Movies

  • Ivo Barnabò Micheli : Trapped. Notes for a film about Norbert C. Kaser . FRG / I 1984.
  • Astrid Kofler : norbert c. kaser. & again excitement seizes me. a collage . Rai Sender Bozen 2008.

Radio features (podcast)

Scenic productions

  • kreuzweg Staged concert with poems by Norbert C. Kaser and music by Anton Prestele (production: Herbert Gantschacher , musical direction: Peter Ewaldt , with Josef Köstlinger and the "ensemble Kreativ"), ARBOS - Society for Music and Theater in the Künstlerhaus Klagenfurt 1991 and Künstlerhaus Salzburg 1991; (New production 1993 by Herbert Gantschacher for Divadlo Labyrint Prague, musical direction: Edo Micic, with Alfred Feilhaber and the "ensemble Kreativ"; new production 1999 by Herbert Gantschacher for the festival "One Day and One Night of Modern Music" in Odessa, musical Direction: Daniel Hoyem-Cavazza, with Alfred Feilhaber and the "ensemble Kreativ")
  • Circulus Vitiosus . A circus opera by Anton Prestele based on texts by Norbert C. Kaser (director: Anton Prestele, with the youth choir and orchestra of the Bruneck Music School, Hannes Holzer, Stefan Ghedina and others), Bruneck City Theater 2009.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alexander Langer: Funerale laico con Tedeum. In: Lotta Continua, August 1980, accessed January 27, 2018.
  2. ↑ Erich Hackl: Jaeh lived & jaeh died , in: Wiener Tagebuch, No. 2/1980, pp. 26-27.
  3. ^ Rolf Schneider: To all pleasure and also to nothing , in: DIE ZEIT, January 4, 1980
  4. ↑ "Everything, just not with you". The South Tyrolean author Norbert C. Kaser , Min. 24.09–24.36.
  5. ↑ Website of the Bruneck City Library ( Memento of the original dated February 1, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bibliotecacivica-brunico.it
  6. ↑ Leaning criticism in a changing light . In: Pustertaler Zeitung . January 14, 2005, p. 40-41 .
  7. ↑ The Becoming of a Medieval City . In: Pustertaler Zeitung . May 19, 2006, p. 10 .
  8. ↑ Bruneck City Library (ed.): Does winter never end? Norbert C. Kaser on his 70th birthday. Word engravings from South Tyrolean authors , Edition Raetia, Bozen 2017.
  9. ^ "Everyone who criticized Kaser is silent today", in: Zett. Die Zeitung am Sonntag, March 26, 2017, pp. 35–36.
  10. ↑ Kasers Bruneck: A literary foray through the hometown of an exceptional poet, in: http://magazin.haymonverlag.at/ (March 2017).
  11. ↑ Joachim Gatterer: Afterword , in: ders. (Ed.): Norbert C. Kaser: Mein haßgeliebtes Bruneck. A city portrait in texts and pictures, Haymon, Innsbruck / Vienna 2017, p. 207.
  12. ↑ Erich Hackl: Der Revolutionär im Provinznest , in: Konkret, 5/2017, p. 52.
  13. ↑ Hans Augustin: Bruneck City Library (ed.): Does winter never end? Norbert C. Kaser on his 70th birthday. Wortstiche Südtiroler Authors , in: LiLit. Literatur im Lichthof, 11/2017 (online).
  14. ↑ http://www.drehpunktkultur.at/index.php/rest-der-welt/oesterreich/10448-ideen-wie-musik-aussehen-kann
personal data
SURNAME Kaser, Norbert Conrad
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kaser, NC
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian poet (South Tyrol)
DATE OF BIRTH April 19, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Brixen , South Tyrol
DATE OF DEATH August 21, 1978
Place of death Brunico