Theodor Dirks

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Theodor Dirks (born May 9, 1816 in Golzwarden ; † August 15, 1902 in Oldenburg ) was a German teacher and writer .

Life

Professional activities

Theodor Dirks was the son of the innkeeper Lehnert Dirks and his wife Dorothea Elisabeth nee Bödeker. He attended the teachers' seminar in Oldenburg from 1831 to 1833 and after completing his training - like other seminarians - had to wait a long time for a permanent position in the school service. During that time he worked as a private tutor and then became an assistant teacher in Neuende and Delmenhorst . In 1842 he was employed in the school service and taught from 1842 to 1859 at the school in Norder schwein . Until 1873 he was the main teacher and organist in Burhave and most recently from 1873 until his retirement in 1885 as main teacher and organist in Apen .

Activity as a writer

As a writer and in order to improve his teaching salary, Dirks tried to market his narrative talent alongside his professional activity. His poems and stories, written in High German, brought him neither recognition nor the additional income he had hoped for. Under the influence of Klaus Groth , he turned to Low German dialect poetry in the 1860s and won the Mettcker publishing house in Jever for the plan to publish an in-house calendar written almost entirely in Low German. The first edition appeared in 1866 under the title De plattdütsche Klenner and, in addition to the usual calendar content , contained numerous stories, poems, anecdotes and riddles, which came almost exclusively from Dirks. Since he feared that the writing sideline could harm him with the school board, he published his contributions under a pseudonym . The house calendar was initially well received, but demand fell sharply after the establishment of the empire , so that the Klenner was discontinued as early as 1871 with its 6th year. In 1872 Dirks published the North German Heimatfreund in Oldenburg , but only one year was published. He then published only smaller magazine articles, especially in the “Volksbote”, and in the following years concentrated on his teaching activities. After his retirement in 1901 he published a selection of his stories under his own name. He died in the summer of 1902 at the age of 86 in Oldenburg.

rating

Along with Franz Poppe and Wilhelm Rahden (1818–1876), Dirks was the first Oldenburg writer to emerge with a more extensive Low German work. His strength lay in the precise and vivid description of the rural milieu and the people living there. In the form of the narrative, which was limited to a few basic situations, he was able to fully demonstrate his abilities, while he could not cope with the drafting of longer storylines. According to Georg Ruseler , Dirks later wrote a drama The Indian Orakel , an extensive and rambling version of Reineke Fuchs, and worked on a larger, unspecified work. However, Dirks is said to have destroyed all manuscripts before his death.

family

Theodor Dirks was born Oxen with Henriette, daughter of the land manager Bernhard Oxen and Gesine Diederike Elisabeth born. Frerichs, married.

Further publications

  • The story of the Germans in a hundred verses for the youth of German schools and houses. Oldenburg 1847.
  • De Plattdütsche Klenner. Year 1–6. Jever 1866-1871.
  • The North German homeland friend. 1st year (not published after that). Oldenburg 1872.
  • Messages from the "Plattdütschen Klenner" plus an encore in the same dialect. Jever 1901.
  • Van Jadestrand un Werserkant: Stories and Poems. In: Quickborn books , Vol. 4., A. Jansen. Hamburg 1913.
  • De Muller to Äwelgunn un anners wat. Edited by Georg Ruseler. Hamburg. 1913. 2nd edition: Quickborn-Verlag. Hamburg 1922.
  • De wullaken Heidsnuck: story. Sharp. Oldenburg 1956.
  • De Wulf: un anners wat för school kids. Sharp. Oldenburg 1960.
  • De stately chapel. Edited by Jürgen Beutin. Oldenburg 1982.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Dirks, Theodor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German teacher and writer
DATE OF BIRTH May 9, 1816
PLACE OF BIRTH Golzwarden
DATE OF DEATH August 15, 1902
Place of death Oldenburg