Feuerhalle Simmering - Urnenhain (Abteilung 1) - H C Artmann 01 cropped

Hans Carl Artmann (12 June 1921 – 4 December 2000), also known as Ib Hansen, was an Austrian poet and writer, most popular for his early poems written in

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city * Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance * V ...

(''med ana schwoazzn dintn'', 1958), which however, never after were to be the focus of his oeuvre.

Life and work

Artmann was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

as the son of shoe maker Johann Artmann and his wife Marie (née Schneider). After growing up in Vienna and attending ''Volks- & Hauptschule'', he worked as an office intern for three years; in 1940, he was

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and transferred to a punishment battalion after suffering a war wound in 1941. Having grown up trilingually, Artmann had an interest in language from an early age on; in 1947, his first publications appeared on radio and in the newspaper ''Neue Wege''. He joined the Art-Club in 1951, and worked with Gerhard Rühm and

Konrad Bayer Konrad Bayer (17 December 1932 – October 1964) was an Austrian writer and poet. A member of the Wiener Gruppe, he combined apparently irreconcilable elements—violence, hermeticism, pessimism, ecstasy, banality—and influences (dadaism, surre ...

from 1952 on. The same year, he also founded the so-called

Wiener Gruppe The Wiener Gruppe (''Vienna Group'') was a small and loose avant-garde constellation of Austrian poets and writers, which arose from an older and wider postwar association of artists called Art-Club. The group was formed around 1953 under the influ ...

of avantgarde poets, which he left in 1958. Starting in 1954, Artmann travelled Europe extensively; he stayed in Sweden from 1961 to 1965, living in Stockholm, Lund and

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal pop ...

, then went to live in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

until 1969, to settle down in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

in 1972. As Ib Hansen he had sung at DMGP 1966 with the song "

Lille Veninde Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...

" placing equal 3rd with 9 points. He was a founding member of the '' Anti P.E.N.'' club in 1973; later that year, he became and stayed president of the ''

Grazer Autorenversammlung The Grazer Autorinnen Autorenversammlung (GAV) was founded under the name of ''Grazer Autorenversammlung'' in March 1973 and is one of the two major Austrian writers' association (besides the Austrian PEN). H. C. Artmann was its first president. ...

'' until leaving the organization in 1978. He earned several awards for his achievements in

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

during his lifetime, including the

Grand Austrian State Prize The Grand Austrian State Prize () is a decoration given annually by Austria to an artist for exceptional work. The recipient must be an Austrian citizen with a permanent residence in Austria. It was originally created in 1950 by then education mi ...

in 1974, the title of honorary doctor from the

University of Salzburg The University of Salzburg (german: Universität Salzburg), also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (''Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg'', PLUS), is an Austrian public university in Salzburg municipality, Salzburg state, named af ...

in 1991 and the Georg-Büchner Preis for literature in 1997. Artmann wrote a number of humorous stories, including parodies of '' Dracula'', (''dracula dracula'', 1966), ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...

'', (''Frankenstein in Sussex'', 1969) and Hollywood fantasy films ("In the Gulf of Carpentaria"). Artmann was a prolific translator; he rendered Edward Lear, Lars Gustafsson,

Daisy Ashford Margaret Mary Julia Devlin (née Ashford; 3 April 1881 – 15 January 1972), known as Daisy Ashford, was an English writer who is most famous for writing '' The Young Visiters'', a novella concerning the upper class society of late 19th century ...

and H.P. Lovecraft into German. He also translated one volume of the

Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gauls, Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book book series, series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight th ...

series into Viennese language, '' Da Legionäa Asterix'', which was released in 1999. H. C. Artmann died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

on 4 December 2000 in Vienna at the age 79. He was cremated at

Feuerhalle Simmering Feuerhalle Simmering is a crematorium with attached urn burial ground in the Simmering (Vienna), Simmering district of Vienna, Austria. It lies at the end of an alley, directly opposite Vienna Central Cemetery's main gate. Description Opened on ...

, where his ashes are also buried.

Selected works

*''Achtundachtzig: Ausgewählte Gedichte'' (1996) *''Der aeronautische Sindtbart: oder, Seltsame Luftreise von Niedercalifornien nach Crain'' (1975) *''Allerleirausch: neue schöne Kinderreime'' (1978) *''Angus''; English version by Olive Jones (1974) *''Artmann, H.C., Dichter: Ein Album mit alten Bildern und neuen Texten''; edited by Jochen Jung (1986) *''Aus meiner Botanisiertrommel: Balladen u. Naturgedichte'' (1975) *''The Best of H.C. Artmann''; edited by Klaus Reichert (1975) *''Christopher und Peregrin und was weiter geschah: Ein Bären-Roman in drei Kapiteln''; with Barbara Wehr (1975) *''Drakula, Drakula. Ein transsylvanisches Abenteuer''; with Uwe Brenner (1966) *''Die Fahrt zur Insel Nantucket; Theater'' (1969) *''Fleiss und Industrie'' (1989) *''Frankenstein in Sussex'' (1974) *''Gedichte über die Liebe und über die Lasterhaftigkeit'' (1975) *''Gedichte von der Wollust des Dichtens in Worte gefasst'' (1989) *''Gesammelte Prosa''; edited by Klaus Reichert, 4 volumes (1997) *''Gesänge der Hämmer'' (1996) *''Goethe trifft Lilo Pulver und wandert mit ihr durch den Spessart zum Schloss Mespelbrunn'' (1996) *''Grammatik der Rosen: gesammelte Prosa''; edited by Klaus Reichert, 3 volumes (1979) *''Grünverschlossene Botschaft. 90 Träume'' (1967) *''H.C. Artmann: ich bin Abenteurer und nicht Dichter: Aus Gesprächen mit Kurt Hofmann'' (2001) *''Hans-Christof Stenzel’s POEtarium'' (1991) *''Der Herr Norrrdwind: ein Opernlibretto'' (2005) *''How much, Schatzi?'' (1971) *''Ich brauch einen Wintermantel etz.: Briefe an Herbert Wochinz''; edited by Alois Brandstetter (2005) *''Im Schatten der Burenwurst: Skizzen aus Wien'' (1983) *''Die Jagd nach Dr. U.: oder, Ein einsamer Spiegel, in dem sich der Tag reflektiert'' (1977) *''Kleinere Taschenkunststücke. Fast eine Chinoiserie'' (1973) *''Eine Lektion in Poesie wird vorbereitet'' (1998) *''Ein lilienweisser Brief aus Lincolnshire: Gedichte aus 21 Jahren''; edited by Gerald Bisinger (1969) *''Nachrichten aus Nord und Süd'' (1978) *''Ompül'' (1974) *''Das Prahlen des Urwaldes im Dschungel'' (1983) *''The quest for Dr. U, or, A solitary mirror in which the day reflects''; translated by Malcolm Green & Derk Wynand (1993) *''Der Schlüssel zum Paradies: religiöse Dichtung der Kelten'' (1993) *''Die Sonne war ein grünes Ei: von der Erschaffung der Welt und ihren Dingen'' (1982) *''Das Suchen nach dem gestrigen Tag; oder, Schnee auf einem heissen Brotwecken : Eintragungen e. bizarren Liebhabers'' (1978) *''Unter der Bedeckung eines Hutes. Montagen u. Sequenzen'' (1974) *''Verbarium. Gedichte'' (1966) *''Von einem Husaren, der seine guldine Uhr in einem Teich oder Weiher verloren, sie aber nachhero nicht wiedergefunden hat'' (1990) *''Die Wanderer'' (1979) *''Was sich im Fernen abspielt: gesammelte Geschichten'' edited by Hans Haider (1995) *''Wer dichten kann ist Dichtersmann: eine Auswahl aus dem Werk''; edited by Christina Weiss and Karl Riha (1986) *''Yeti; oder, John, ich reise ...''; with Rainer Pichler and Hannes Schneider (1970) *''Der zerbrochene Krug: nach Heinrich von Kleist'' (1992)

A documentary film

* Ferry Radax: ''H.C. Artmann'' (1967). A documentary film portrait of the legend made by a fellow countryman. 42 min., black and white.

Decorations and awards

* 1974:

Grand Austrian State Prize for Literature The Grand Austrian State Prize () is a decoration given annually by Austria to an artist for exceptional work. The recipient must be an Austrian citizen with a permanent residence in Austria. It was originally created in 1950 by then education mi ...

* 1977: Literature Prize of the City of Vienna * 1981: Ring of Honour of the City of Salzburg * 1981: Rauriser citizens Prize for Literature * 1981, 1989 and 1991: Literature Prize of the City of Salzburg * 1983: Literature Prize of the Salzburg economy * 1984: Golden Medal of Honour of Salzburg * 1986:

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian D ...

* 1986: Manuscripts Award for the Forum Stadtpark of Styria * 1986: translator premium of the Federal Ministry of Education and Arts * 1986:

Mainzer Stadtschreiber The Mainzer Stadtschreiber (City clerk in Mainz) is an annual German literature award. It is awarded by ZDF, 3sat and the city of Mainz and was founded in 1984. The award is endowed with €12,500. Additionally the laureate receives the right to l ...

* 1987: Art Prize visual artists from Austria and Germany for a highly esteemed and admired colleague * 1989:

Franz Nabl Prize The Franz Nabl Prize is an biennial Austrian literature award. The prize was first awarded in 1975 by the city of Graz. The prize money is €14,500 (since 2019: €15,000). It is awarded as part of a jury meeting in cooperation with the at the ...

* 1991: Honorary cup of Salzburg * 1991: Honorary doctorate from the

* 1991: Literature Prize of the City of Salzburg * 1991:

Austrian Decoration for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian ...

* 1992: Franz Grillparzer Prize Foundation F.V.S. Hamburg * 1994: Peace current price for dialect poetry of Kreis Neuss * 1996: Grand Decoration of Carinthia * 1996: Honorary Ring of the Vienna * 1997:

Georg Büchner Prize The Georg Büchner Prize (german: link=no, Georg-Büchner-Preis) is the most important literary prize for German language literature, along with the Goethe Prize. The award is named after dramatist and writer Georg Büchner, author of '' Woyzeck ...

* 1997: Honorary Award of the Austrian book trade for tolerance in thought and action * 1999: Literature of the Province of Styria * 2000: Grand Gold Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria

Notes

External links

* For books in English chec
Atlas Press
* Se

for a most extensive list of his work (in German).
author page
at Lyrikline.org, with audio and text in original language, and translations into Slovenian. {{DEFAULTSORT:Artmann, Hans Carl 1921 births 2000 deaths Austrian male poets Austrian male novelists Austrian male short story writers Austrian translators Austrian fantasy writers Writers from Vienna Georg Büchner Prize winners Recipients of the Grand Austrian State Prize Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art Recipients of the Grand Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria 20th-century translators 20th-century Austrian novelists 20th-century Austrian poets German-language poets 20th-century short story writers 20th-century Austrian male writers Burials at Feuerhalle Simmering Austrian military personnel of World War II German Army personnel of World War II Austrian expatriates in Sweden Austrian expatriates in Germany