Rainer Kirsch

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Sarah and Rainer Kirsch, 1964 (Sarah on the left, Rainer in the middle)

Rainer Kirsch (born July 17, 1934 in Döbeln / Saxony ; † September 4, 2015 in Berlin ) was a German writer and poet .

Kirsch emerged as the author of poetry, dramas, short stories as well as essays, radio plays and children's books. In addition, he created numerous translations and adaptations from Russian ( Ossip Mandelstam , Anna Akhmatova , Sergei Jessenin , Vladimir Mayakovsky , Daniil Charms , Evgeni Evtuschenko , Vladimir Vysotsky , Marina Tsvetaeva , Maxim Gorki ), Georgian ( Nikolos Barataschwili ), English ( John Keats , Percy Bysshe Shelley ) and the French ( Molière , Edmond Rostand ).

Life

The grave in Berlin-Mitte in August 2016

Rainer Kirsch grew up in Westewitz / Saxony . After the family moved to Halle / Saale , he attended the Roßleben monastery school from 1952 . There he passed the Abitur in 1953. He then studied history and philosophy at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena at the Martin Luther University in Halle . Because of poems published in a wall newspaper and “deviating ideological views” he was expelled from the university in 1957 and sent to production for “probation”.

Kirsch worked as a printing and transport worker, chemical and agricultural worker until 1960. From 1960 to 1968 Rainer Kirsch was married to Sarah Kirsch , a biologist who was already writing at the time . Several poetic works were created with her. Since 1960 he saw himself as a freelance writer. He studied with his wife from 1963 to 1965 at the literature institute "Johannes R. Becher" in Leipzig . Here the poet Georg Maurer , whose poetry seminar he attended, became important for his literary development. In 1966 the institute refused him the diploma for reasons of cultural policy. Because of his comedy Heinrich Schlaghands Höllenfahrt - an adaptation of the Faust material - the SED excluded him from its ranks in 1973. The world premiere, a staged reading, took place on September 23, 2013 in the garden house of the Berliner Ensemble . With poets such as Adolf Endler , Karl Mickel , Volker Braun , Sarah Kirsch and Peter Gosse , he saw himself as a representative of the Saxon School of Poetry , which was based on friendship and mutual aesthetic demands. Peter Gosse put it this way: " Sanguine , world reference, serious craftsmanship and insistence on reason."

Rainer Kirsch's work is characterized by its great diversity, only one novel is missing. He preferred the small literary forms: "I am a Lessing type, only occasionally is a verse or phrase 'given' to me". Kirsch's work includes poems, translations and adaptations, essays, stories, portraits and reports, an opera and ballet libretto, and texts for children. Kirsch saw himself in the tradition of the Enlightenment and the Classical . Precise linguistic work, also trained in his translation work, was important to him. Poetry and prose are characterized by objectivity and accuracy, often underlaid with subtle, subtle irony. He saw the “relentless portrayal of the world and its condition, related to the possibilities of man” as the poet's task.

From March to the end of December 1990 Rainer Kirsch was chairman of the GDR writers' association . Afterwards, writers from both German states were brought together to form the Association of German Writers . Until 1991 Rainer Kirsch took over the chairmanship with German colleagues. Since 1990 he has been a full member of the Akademie der Künste zu Berlin (East), after the merger of the two academies from 1993 a member of the Akademie der Künste (Berlin). From 1973 to 2010 he was a member of the PEN and since 1998 of the Saxon Academy of the Arts .

He was buried in the Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof in Berlin-Mitte.

plant

  • with Sarah Kirsch:
    • Berlin sunny side. Germany meeting of young people in the capital of the GDR Berlin 1964. With photos by Thomas Billhardt . New life, Berlin 1964.
    • Conversation with the dinosaur. Poems. With colored panels by Ronald Paris . New life, Berlin 1965.
  • The soldier and the lighter. Fairytale comedy for adults. World premiere: Erfurt 1967.
  • Pathétique. Drama by Mykola Kulisch . Editing by Rainer Kirsch. henschel Schauspiel [Henschelverlag], Berlin. GDR premiere: the Putbus stage in 1967.
  • Cyrano from Bergerac. Comedy by Edmond Rostand . Re-poetry by Rainer Kirsch. henschel Schauspiel [Henschelverlag], Berlin. First performance: Potsdam 1968.
  • Georgian poetry from eight centuries. Adaptations by Adolf Endler and Rainer Kirsch. Volk und Welt publishing house, Berlin 1971.
  • Heinrich Schlaghand's journey into hell. Comedy. henschel Schauspiel [Henschelverlag], Berlin 1973.
  • It was a rooster. Children's book. Illustrations by Elizabeth Shaw . Children's book publisher, Berlin 1973.
  • History of the abandoned doll. Children's piece by Alfonso Sastre. Re-poetry by Rainer Kirsch. henschel Schauspiel [Henschelverlag], Berlin. GDR premiere: Theater der Junge Welt, Leipzig 1973.
  • When I have my red hat. Children's book. Illustrations by Wolfgang Würfel. Children's book publisher, Berlin 1974.
  • Copies based on originals. Three portraits & a report. (= RUB. 586). Reclam, Leipzig 1974. Four portraits from the GDR. Licensed edition: Quartheft 70, Verlag Klaus Wagenbach, Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-8031-0070-4 .
  • The pearls of the green mermaid. A mathematical fairy tale with a game insert. Illustrations by Ruth Knorr. Junge Welt, Berlin 1975. (6th edition 1988, ISBN 3-7302-0396-7 )
  • The word and its radiation. About poetry and its translation. Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin and Weimar 1976.
  • The land bum-bum. Opera for children and adults. Libretto by Rainer Kirsch and music by Georg Katzer . Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel [Henschelverlag, Berlin] 1976. First performance: Komische Oper, Berlin 1978.
  • The soldier and the lighter. Fairytale comedy for adults. Illustrations by Lothar Scharsich. Eulenspiegel, Berlin 1978.
  • Stone of luck. Children's piece by Carlos José Reyes. Translation by Achim Gebauer. Editing by Rainer Kirsch. henschel Schauspiel [Henschelverlag], Berlin. GDR premiere: Theater Rudolstadt 1978.
  • About the robber, the skirt and the billy goat. Children's book. Illustrations by Hans Ticha . Children's book publisher, Berlin 1978.
  • Set out to learn to fear. Cross-sectional volume - prose, poetry, comedy, essays. Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek 1978; also in: Wolfgang Mieder (Ed.): Grimmige Märchen. Prose texts from Ilse Aichinger to Martin Walser. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1986, ISBN 3-88323-608-X .
  • Office of poet. Articles, reviews, notes 1964–1978. With a frontispiece by Roger Melis. Hinstorff, Rostock 1979.
  • Reglindis. Songs. Eulenspiegel Verlag, Berlin 1979.
  • Munchausen. Comedy for ballet. Libretto by Rainer Kirsch and music by Rainer Kunad . Henschelverlag, Berlin 1979. World premiere: Landestheater Weimar 1979.
  • Prometheus unleashed. Lyrical drama by Percy Bysshe Shelley . Re-poetry by Rainer Kirsch. Insel-Bücherei No. 651, Leipzig 1979.
  • The lighter. Fairytale comedy based on Grimm and Andersen. henschel Schauspiel [Henschelverlag], Berlin. World premiere: Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe 1980.
  • Go on a trip. Poems. Hinstorff, Rostock 1980.
  • The bug. Sweat bath. Magic fairy comedy and drama by Vladimir Mayakovsky. Re-poetry by Rainer Kirsch. henschel Schauspiel [Henschelverlag], Berlin 1978. Luchterhand collection 1980, ISBN 3-472-61302-5 .
  • Sweat bath. Drama by Vladimir Mayakovsky. Re-poetry by Rainer Kirsch. Reclam, Leipzig 1982.
  • Mother Hulda. Fairy tale based on the Brothers Grimm. henschel Schauspiel [Henschelverlag], Berlin 1982. World premiere: Wiesbaden 1982.
  • Today is the wrong world. Children's book. Illustrations by Hans Ticha . Children's book publisher, Berlin 1983.
  • The wind is made of air. Children's book. Illustrations by Carl Hoffmann. Children's book publisher, Berlin 1984.
  • The little purple nebula. Children's book. Illustrations by Johannes KG Niedlich. Edition Holz in the children's book publisher, Berlin 1985.
  • Order in the mirror. Essays, notes, conversations. (= RUB. Volume 1091). Reclam, Leipzig 1985. (2nd edition. Reclam, Leipzig 1991, ISBN 3-379-00672-6 )
  • Sauna or remote clouding. Stories. Hinstorff, Rostock 1985.
  • The long leg stork. Children's book. Illustrations by Marianne Schäfer. Young World Publishing House, Berlin 1986.
  • The women's school. Molière's comedy. Re-poetry by Rainer Kirsch. henschel Schauspiel [Henschelverlag], Berlin. First performance: City Theater Bern 1986.
  • Chief Olim or How Mathematics Came into the World. Children's book. Illustrations by Volker Pfüller. Young World Publishing House, Berlin 1986.
  • Art in Mark Brandenburg. Poems. Hinstorff, Rostock 1988, ISBN 3-356-00151-5 ; Hanser, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-446-15361-6 .
  • Five dramas. Maxim Gorky. Re-poetry by Rainer Kirsch. Drei Masken Verlag, Munich 1999. Reclam, Leipzig 1989, ISBN 3-379-00438-3 .
    • Night shelter . German premiere: State Theater Saarbrücken 1981.
    • Children of the sun . German premiere: Staatstheater Karlsruhe 1981.
    • Wassa Shelesnowa. A mother . German premiere: ETA Hoffmann-Theater Bamberg 1987.
    • Egor Bulychov and the others . German premiere: Theaters of the City of Bielefeld 1980.
    • Wassa Shelesnowa (Second Version). German premiere: Landestheater Schwaben Memmingen 1987.
  • The petty bourgeoisie. Drama by Maxim Gorky. Re-poetry by Rainer Kirsch. Drei Masken Verlag, Munich. German premiere: Stadttheater Ingolstadt 1995.
  • Poetry album 271. Poems. New Life Publishing House, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-355-01103-7 .
  • Anna Katarina or Die Nacht am Moorbusch, a Saxon shower ballad along with thirteen gentle songs and a profound conversation. Illustrated by Renate Totzke-Israel . Hinstorff, Rostock 1991, ISBN 3-356-00296-1 .
  • Little Red Riding Hood. Fairy tale by Yevgeny Scharz. Re-poetry by Rainer Kirsch. henschel drama, Berlin. Stage manuscript 1992.
  • The enchanted brothers. Fairy tale by Yevgeny Schwarz. Re-poetry by Rainer Kirsch. henschel drama, Berlin. Stage manuscript 1992.
  • The gowns of the scholars of God. Small fonts. (= mdv linden leaf ). Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle 1999, ISBN 3-932776-86-0 .
  • Petrarch has mallows in the garden and is silent about the world riddles. Sonnets. Color woodblock prints by Hans Ticha . Quetsche, publishing house for book art, 2002.
  • Cherry orchard. Comedy by Anton Chekhov. Re-poetry by Rainer Kirsch. henschel drama, Berlin 2003.
  • Works (Volume I-IV). Eulenspiegel , Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-359-01494-4 :
    • Volume 1: Poems & Songs.
    • Volume 2: Stories & Portraits.
    • Volume 3: Pieces & Libretti.
    • Volume 4: Essays & Conversations.
  • The misanthropist. Molière's comedy. Re-poetry by Rainer Kirsch. henschel Schauspiel, Berlin 2013. World premiere: Thüringer Landestheater Rudolstadt 2018. Eulenspiegel, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-359-02221-3 .
  • Thoughts on the Mtkvari River. Poems by Nikolos Baratashvili. Re-poetry by Rainer Kirsch. Verlag Ganatleba, Tbilissi 1968. For the first time in Germany: Arco Verlag, Wuppertal 2018, ISBN 978-3-938375-76-1 .
  • Works (Volume V-VIII). Eulenspiegel Verlag, Berlin, in preparation, ISBN 978-3-359-01344-0 :
    • Volume 5: Adaptations from Italian and English .
    • Volume 6: Adaptations from Georgian and Russian .
    • Volume 7: Transmissions from French and Spanish .
    • Volume 8: Play transfers from Russian .

Radio plays

  • History of the abandoned doll. Original broadcast: 1978 radio of the GDR.
  • The stone of luck. Original broadcast: 1980, GDR radio.
  • The lighter. Original broadcast: 1988, GDR radio.
  • The little purple nebula. Original broadcast: 1989, GDR radio.

Audio book

Editing

  • Rainer Kirsch and Manfred Wolter (eds.): The last meal with the beloved. Poems. Eulenspiegel Verlag, Berlin 1975.
  • Rainer Kirsch (selection): Ossip Mandelstam . Poems. Independent publishing house Ackerstrasse, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-86172-031-0 .
  • Rainer Kirsch (Ed.): Peter Hacks , Dear colleague. Letters to writers. Eulenspiegel, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-359-01639-4 .

Awards

literature

Web links

Commons : Rainer Kirsch  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rainer Kirsch died at the age of 81. ( Memento from September 4, 2015 in the web archive archive.today )
  2. ^ A b Rainer Kirsch: Works Volume 1 - Poems & Songs . On planetlyrik.de.
  3. ^ Michael Opitz, Michael Hofmann (Ed.): Metzler Lexikon DDR literature . Metzler, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 3-476-05222-2 , p. 162.
  4. ^ Rainer Kirsch: Heinrich Schlaghands hell trip. at henschel-schauspiel.de (PDF) ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ^ Peter Maiwald: Kirsch. Seen through his poems, in: Neue Rundschau Heft 4, 1990.
  6. ^ Rainer Kirsch: On Rainer Kirsch's poem Im Maß Petrarcas , in: NDL Heft 396 from December 1985.
  7. ↑ Jürgen Engler: On Rainer Kirsch's poem Petrarca has mallow in the garden and keeps the world riddles silent , in: NDL Heft 553 from Jan./Feb. 2004.
  8. ↑ Matthias Oehme: In Petrarch's coat . The poet Rainer Kirsch turns 70, in: Neues Deutschland from July 17, 2004.
  9. ↑ Burga Kalinowski: And without this word the poem would be nothing . Interview with Rainer Kirsch, in: Neues Deutschland from July 19, 2014, p. 18
personal data
SURNAME Kirsch, Rainer
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer and poet
DATE OF BIRTH July 17, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Chub , District Main Team Leipzig
DATE OF DEATH 4th September 2015
Place of death Berlin