Emmy Hennings (born Emma Maria Cordsen, 17 January 1885 – 10 August 1948) was a poet and performing artist, founder of the

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...

ist Cabaret Voltaire with her second husband

Hugo Ball Hugo Ball (; 22 February 1886 – 14 September 1927) was a German author, poet, and essentially the founder of the Dada movement in European art in Zürich in 1916. Among other accomplishments, he was a pioneer in the development of sound poetry. ...

Life and work

Hennings was born on 17 January 1885 in Flensburg,

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

, describing herself later as "a seaman's child". After the end of her first marriage in 1906, Hennings was an itinerant performer, travelling over much of the European continent. She was a performer at the Cabaret Simplizissimus in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, when she met Ball in 1913. At the time, Hennings was already a published poet, whose works had appeared in

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

publications called ''Pan'' and ''

Die Aktion ''Die Aktion'' ("The Action") was a German literary and political magazine, edited by Franz Pfemfert and published between 1911 and 1932 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf; it promoted literary Expressionism and stood for left-wing politics. To begin with, '' ...

''. In 1913 she also published a short poetry collection called ''Ether Poems'', or ''Äthergedichte'' in German. Later, Hennings was a collaborator to the magazine ''Revolution'', which was founded by Ball and

Hans Leybold Hans Leybold (2 April 1892 – 8 September 1914) was a German expressionist poet, whose small body of work was a major inspiration behind much of the Dada movement, in particular the works of his close friend Hugo Ball. Although Leybold died two y ...

. Hennings and Ball moved to Zurich in 1915, where they took part in the founding of the Cabaret Voltaire, which marked the beginning of the

movement. Hennings was a regular performer at the Cabaret Voltaire. Her performances included a role in ''Das Leben des Menschen'' (the Life of a Man), in which she appeared with Ball. This was the German premiere of the play by

Leonid Andreev Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev (russian: Леони́д Никола́евич Андре́ев, – 12 September 1919) was a Russian playwright, novelist and short-story writer, who is considered to be a father of Expressionism in Russian litera ...

. Hennings also performed in a piece written by Ball, called ''Krippenspiel''. After the Cabaret Voltaire ended, Hennings and Ball toured, performing mostly in hotels. Hennings sang, did puppetry, and danced to music composed by Ball. She also recited her own poetry. In 1916 Ball and Hennings created Arabella, their own ensemble troupe, where Hennings performed under the name Dagny. Hennings married Ball on 21 February 1920. Although they had no children together, Hennings had a daughter, Annemarie, from a previous relationship. Hennings, who outlived Ball by two decades, lived in

Magliaso Magliaso is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. History Magliaso is first mentioned in 769 as ''de Maliacis''. In 854 it was mentioned as ''de vico Maliaci''. During the Lombards era the monastery ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

from 1942 to 1948. She died on 10 August 1948 at a clinic in

Sorengo Sorengo is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. History Sorengo was first mentioned in 1189 as ''Sourengo'' when the S. Lorenzo Cathedral in Lugano acquired the right to collect tithes. In the Lat ...

, Switzerland.Bärbel Reetz. ''Emmy Ball-Hennings: Leben im Vielleicht.'' Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 2001, p. 331-332

Dada star

In ''The Magic Bishop: Hugo Ball, Dada Poet'', author Erdmute Wenzel White writes that Hennings “was admired by expressionists as the incarnation of the cabaret artist of her time... The shining star of the Voltaire, according to the ''Zuricher Post'' ( Zurich Post), her role in Dada has not been adequately acknowledged.” (p. 11). White also cites a poem by

Johannes Becher Johannes Robert Becher (, 22 May 1891 – 11 October 1958) was a German politician, novelist, and poet. He was affiliated with the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) before World War II. At one time, he was part of the literary avant-garde, writi ...

which he uses as evidence that Emmy served as a muse for other artists of the time:
"It was in Munich, at the Café Stefanie,
Where I recited for you, Emmy, poems
That I dared tell only you,"

References

Sources

*''Flight Out of Time: A Dada Diary'', by Hugo Ball *''Emmy Ball-Hennings: Leben im Vielleicht'' by Bärbel Reetz. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 2001 *''Emmy Ball-Hennings: Wege und Umwege zum Paradies: Biographie'' by René Gass. Zürich: Pendo, 1998 *''The Magic Bishop: Hugo Ball, Dada Poet'' by Erdmute Wenzel White

External links

* * * *
The-artists-org short bio,links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennings, Emmy 1885 births 1948 deaths People from Flensburg Dada Modernist theatre People from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein