Novum - magazine of the poetry club

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The Novum - Issue of the Poetry Club appeared between 1971 and 1973 as a publication of the German cultural house "Friedrich Schiller" in Bucharest , Strada Batiștei 15 as the first and only German-language publication in Romania that was not subject to the then official press censorship, the press department and Publications. After two years of publication, the “Novum” magazines were banned in 1973 by the state authorities.

History of origin

In 1971, the Bucharest writers founded Claus Stephani , editor of the monthly magazine " New Literature " (organ of the Writers' Union of the SRR), the "Poetry Club", a literary circle of young writers who regularly lectures and discussions in Bucharest German Cultural House Friedrich Schiller came together and which he directed until 1976. Between 1966 and 1971, Stephani headed the Bucharest German Literature Circle, which at that time held its meetings in the Writers' House (Roman Casa Scriitorilor "Mihail Sadoveanu", Calea Victoriei 115). This literary circle stopped its events - soon after the poetry club was founded - as well-known representatives of the older German-speaking generation of writers, such as Alfred Kittner , Klaus Kessler , Immanuel Weissglas , Roswith Capesius and Elisabeth Axmann , joined the circle in the poetry club .

With the consent and support of the new director, the Germanist Elisabeth Pfeifer, who had replaced the previous head of the house, Ernst Molling, a German jazz club, which was run by the musician Adrian Neagu-Taschler, as well as the German one, was set up in the Schillerhaus "Keller-Theater", the initiator and director of which the well-known Bucharest stage and film actor Emmerich Schäffer (1931–1999) made a name for himself.

Between 1970 and 1971/72 Claus Stephani brought out the first and only German-language publication in the Schillerhaus together with Rolf-Frieder Marmont , at that time radio reporter for the German-language program of Radio Bucharest, which was not subject to the then official press censorship, the Directorate for Press and Publications (rum . Direcția Presei și Publicaților), subordinate. This appeared as a publication by the German cultural center "Friedrich Schiller" (Casa de cultură "Friedrich Schiller", Bucharest, Strada Batiştei 15) and was printed in the polygraphic combine "Haus der Scânteia" (Roman Combinatul Poligrafic Casa Scânteii, CPCS). The technical editor was Vladimir Ulieru. The title of this new publication, which soon became known beyond the country's borders, was “Novum - Heft des Poesie-Club”. After two years of publication in 1973, the “Novum” magazines were then banned by the state authorities.

Literary activity

In the first “Novum” issue (1971), compiled by Claus Stephani, Rolf-Frieder Marmont and Gert Fabritius (graphic design), a selection of lyrical texts by mostly young Romanian-German poets and a well-known Romanian and Hungarian poet, such as Gerhard Eike, appeared , Wolfgang Gottschick, Hrisztu Bálint, Gerhardt Csejka , Liana Corciu (a German-writing Romanian poet), Hannes Elischer, Klaus Kessler, Alfred Kittner and Marin Sorescu . Anemone Latzina and Dieter Roth were the translators of the Hungarian and Romanian texts .

The chronicle page of this first Novum edition is informative today, and it also reports on the diverse cultural activities in the Schillerhaus. In December 1970, readings by young authors such as Wolfgang Gottschick, Ernst Kulcsar , Hans Matye (Jassy), Ilse Hehn (Mediasch), often with a musical background, took place in the newly founded poetry club, which regularly met every second Friday in the basement of the house . such as jazz and beat tape recordings. Reports include a Peter Handke evening and the performance of the time-critical song montage "Enough happens in the words" (director: Gerhard Eike), with the participation of Karin Servatius, Ingrid Hessaun, Bernd Bömches and Hans Melzer ( Piano).

For subsequent meetings of the poetry club, evenings with time-critical GDR poetry (headed by guest lecturer Dr. Klaus Hammer, Berlin) as well as readings by Rolf-Frieder Marmont, Liviu Tofan, Uwe Erwin Engelmann , Liana Corciu, Walther Seydner and others were represented by representatives of the time the latest generation of poets.

The second edition of the “Novum” booklet (1972/73), compiled by Claus Stephani and Rolf-Frieder Marmont, after which publication was then banned, includes montages of poetry by Immanuel Weissglas , Walther Seydner, Éva Lendvay , Ilse Hehn, Elisabeth Axmann, Hans Matye, Uwe Erwin Engelmann, Frieder Schuller , Ana Blandiana , Roswith Capesius, Mircea Dinescu , Lajos Magyari, Anemone Latzina and graphics by Sofia Fränkl ("Composition"), Delia Celina Ilieșu ("Statuettes"), Helmut Stürmer ("Song") ) and by Gert Fabritius (“Liebe”), who, together with Vladimir Ulieru, again took care of the graphic design. Rolf-Frieder Marmont, Anemone Latzina and Edith Marmont were the translators of the Romanian and Hungarian texts.

This double issue also contains an extensive chronicle of the past readings and events of the Poetry Club. So z. B. Short reports on the “competition to paint the club cellar”, with a jury (Roswith Capesius, Elisabeth Axmann, Ilse Hehn, Alfred Kittner) awarding a prize, about record evenings with Brecht songs ( Gisela May , Hilmar Thate ), poetry evenings with Wolfgang Gottschick, Franz Thomas Schleich , Gisela Theil, Brigitte Maria Zay, Jacqueline Schuster (Hermannstadt, actually Brigitte Maria Schuster), Hannelore Folberth, Ildikó Schaffhauser, Ursula Bedners and others, readings by GDR authors Heinz Kahlau , Hanna-Heide Kraze , Dietrich Summer among others

There is also a report on art exhibitions in the Schillerhaus Gallery, where works by modern Romanian German artists such as Hans Mattis-Teutsch , Diet Sayler , Sieglinde Bottesch , Ingo Glass , Helmut Stürmer , Peter Schweg, Friedrich von Bömches , Edmund Höfer , Carin Eva Blücher, Sofia Fränkl , Kurtfritz Handel, Helmut Fabini, Horst Zay, Francisc Fischer, Hans Ganesch, Robert Schiff , Edgar Kloos, Nora Schütz Minorovics , Reinhardt Schuster and others were on display.

Publication ban

Although the then management council of the Schillerhaus - Dr. Roswith Capesius, Dr. Herbert Hoffmann, Dr. Klaus Kessler, Adalbert Millitz , Koloman Müller, Elisabeth Pfeifer and Claus Stephani - had tried to keep this publication of the Poetry Club, the content of which was obviously not aligned with the official party line and directives, tacitly, its publication had to be discontinued become. In addition, the Novum issues were no longer allowed to be distributed.

The other literary and cultural activities within the framework of the Poetry Club of the Schillerhaus were still able to take place - even after cultural advisor Gert Fabritius was replaced by the sculptor Ingo Glass (1976–1978) after his application to leave Germany in 1976 and then, in 1979– 1981, when the writer Rolf Bossert took over the cultural department. In 1981 Rolf Bossert switched to the Bucharest Meridiane Verlag as a German editor, and from 1982 to 1984 he worked as an editor at Kriterion Verlag, after which he, too, moved to Germany in 1985. This ended the last spontaneous gatherings in the Poetry Club of the Bucharest Schiller House, some of whose members had already left Romania .

Literature (selection)

  • Horst Weber: Poetry Club. In: Hermannstädter Zeitung ( Sibiu / Hermannstadt ), 4th year, No. 167, March 12, 1971, p. 7.
  • H (orst) Anger: Not a Romanian-German Hyde Park . KR discussion with Claus Stephani, editor of the magazine “Neue Literatur”. In: Karpatenrundschau ( Brașov / Kronstadt), 4th year, No. 11, March 19, 1971, pp. 6-
  • (Horst Weber): Seydner in the poetry club. In: Hermannstädter Zeitung (Sibiu / Hermannstadt), No. 179, May 28, 1971, p. 8.
  • Walter Engel : Why not on the ground floor? HZ talk with Claus Stephani. Claus Stephani (33) heads the Bucharest German Literature Circle and is one of the initiators of the Poetry Club. In: Hermannstädter Zeitung (Sibiu / Hermannstadt), No. 182, June 118, 1971, p. 7.
  • E (lisabeth) Axmann: Novum: Nineteen poems. In: Karpatenrundschau ( Brașov / Kronstadt), 5th year, No. 3, Jan. 21, 1972, p. 7.
  • Eduard Schneider. Nineteen new poems. About the NOVUM poetry booklet of the Friedrich-Schiller-Kulturhaus in Bucharest. In: Neue Banater Zeitung ( Timișoara / Temeswar), 16th vol., No. 2851, 22 Jan. 1972, p. 4.
  • (Elke Sigerus): Kulturhaus Friedrich Schiller Bucharest. Novelty. In: Die Woche (Sibiu / Hermannstadt), 5th year, No. 214, Jan. 28, 1972, p. 7.
  • A (nna) B (retz): Poetry Club '72. In: Karpatenrundschau (Brașov / Kronstadt), 4th vol., No. 13, March 31, 1972, p. 3.
  • E (duard) S (chneider): The last thing to say. To the new poetry booklet of the Bucharest German Poetry Club. In: Neue Banater Zeitung (Timișoara / Temeswar), 17th vol., No. 3296, 29 June 1973, p. 4.
  • (Elke Sigersu): "Novum", Het 2. In: Die Woche (Sibiu / Hermannstadt), 6th year, No. 289, 6th July 1973, p. 7.
  • H (ans) M (üller): Again "Novum". About the Bucharest “Poetry Club” and its second “Novum” magazine. In: Neuer Weg (Bucharest), Volume 25, No. 7517, July 7, 1973, p. 3.
  • Gerhard Eike: In focus: Bucharest. Summer in the Schillerhaus. In: Karpatenrundschau (Brașov / Kronstadt), 6th year, No. 28, July 13, 1973, p. 9.
  • Gerhard Eike: Friedrich Schiller House of Culture Bucharest. Novelty. In: Volk und Kultur (Bucharest), Vol. 25, No. 7, July 1973, p. 45.
  • Adrian Patilineț: Vivat Poetry Club! In: Karpatenrundschau (Brașov / Kronstadt), 6th year, No. 45, 9th Nov. 1973, p. 2.
  • Claus Stephani: Interview today. Young German poetry in Romania. With sixteen graphics. Kriterion Verlag. Bucharest, 1974.
  • L (utz) T (illegally), ie Heinrich Zillich : Novum. Booklet of the poetry club. Kulturhaus Friedrich Schiller, Bucharest, series 1971 and series 1972–1973. In: Südostdeutsche Vierteljahresblätter ( Munich ), 23rd year, No. 1/1974, p. 76.
  • Monica Barcan; Adalbert Millitz: The German nationality in Romania. Kriterion Verlag: Bucharest, 1977. Pages 115–117: The “Friedrich Schiller” cultural center in Bucharest (literary circle, poetry club, cellar theater, art gallery of the “Schiller” house, feminine club, aesthetic club, jazz club, etc.).