Otto Erich Hartleben (3 June 1864 – in Clausthal; 11 February 1905 in

Salò Salò (; la, Salodium) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia in the region of Lombardy (northern Italy) on the banks of Lake Garda, on which it has the longest promenade. The city was the seat of government of the Italian Social R ...

) was a German

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and dramatist from Clausthal, known for his translation of '' Pierrot Lunaire''.

Childhood, Education and Marriage

Orphaned as a child, Hartleben was brought up by his grandfather in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. Among his youthful acquaintances there were Karl Henckel, Arthur Gutheil and the future industrialist and politician Alfred Hugenberg and together they published a volume of poetry ''Quartett'' in 1886. After completing his schooling in

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...

in 1886 he went to study law, first in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, where he got to know

Hermann Conradi Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, Miss ...

and Adolf Bartels, and later in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. He studied for the civil service in

Stolberg (Harz) is a town (sometimes itself called 'Harz' in historical references) and a former municipality in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, in the German State of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated in the southern part of the Harz mountains, about ...

and in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

. Giving up his legal studies, he returned to Berlin where he lived as a freelance writer, eventually moving to

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 ...

in 1901. After the death of his grandfather in 1893, Hartleben inherited 80,000 marks and on 2 December married his lifelong companion, ex-waitress “little mop” Selma Hesse.

Career

In 1900 he had a resounding success with his “officer’s tragedy” '' Rosenmontag'' (Carnival Monday) which deals with an ill-fated affair between a simple girl and a young officer from an old military family. He used the proceeds to purchase the Villa Halkyone in

Lake Garda Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label=Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...

. Here he founded in 1903 the Halkyone Academy for the Pure Sciences, which included among its members

Peter Behrens Peter Behrens (14 April 1868 – 27 February 1940) was a leading German architect, graphic and industrial designer, best known for his early pioneering AEG Turbine Hall in Berlin in 1909. He had a long career, designing objects, typefaces, and i ...

, Otto Julius Bierbaum,

Franz Blei Franz Blei (pseudonyms: Medardus, Dr. Peregrinus Steinhövel, Amadée de la Houlette, Franciscus Amadeus, Gussie Mc-Bill, Prokop Templin, Heliogabal, Nikodemus Schuster, L. O. G., Hans Adolar; January 18, 1871, ViennaJuly 10, 1942, Westbury, Lon ...

, Gerhart Hauptmann, Alfred Kubin,

Emil Orlik Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...

and

Ferdinand Pfohl Ferdinand Pfohl (; 12 October 1862, Elbogen, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, now Loket n.O., Czech Republic – 16 December 1949, Hamburg-Bergedorf), was a German music critic, music writer and composer. Pfohl studied law at Prague, then in Leipz ...

, and which boasted just two rules: "§ 1. Membership of the Halkyone Academy confers neither duties nor rights. § 2. Everything else is governed by the spirit of the Halkyone community."

Letters

Hartleben's legendary reputation in turn-of-century letters is due chiefly to the many artistic groups he founded or contributed to, from the Bavarian Bohemian Beer Brotherhood at school in Celle (1885) to the ''Menschenclub'' (a club for “humans”) in

(1890), the ''Karlsbad Idealists’ Club'' (1891), the '' Verbrechertisch'' (“Rogues’ Table”) in Berlin (1896), the Berlin Naturalists’ Society known as ''

Durch The following is a glossary of terms used in card games. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon slang terms. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific (e.g. specific to Bridge, Hearts, Poker or Rummy), ...

'' (“Through”), the Berlin drama movement '' Freie Bühne'' (“Free Stage”), the Berlin Free Literary Society, the Leipzig "Auguren College", not to mention the lively interest he took in the '' Friedrichshagener Dichterkreis'' (Friedrichshagen Poets Circle).

Journalist

He also co-produced the weekly journal '' Die Jugend'' (“Youth”), in which he made humorous jibes at contemporary society and its morals. One of his key characters was '' Serenissimus'', the gone-to-seed ruler of an imaginary peppercorn principality.

Translator

He is especially noted today for his translations of other writers’ poetic works, in particular of Albert Giraud’s '' Pierrot Lunaire'' which forms the ''

Sprechstimme (, "spoken singing") and (, "spoken voice") are expressionist vocal techniques between singing and speaking. Though sometimes used interchangeably, ''Sprechgesang'' is directly related to the operatic ''recitative'' manner of singing (in which p ...

'' text of

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

’s work of that name.

Death

Hartleben died in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Works

*''"Studententagebuch"'', poetry, 1886 *''"Die Serényi"'', stories, 1887 *''"Angele"'', comedy, 1891 *''"Hanna Jagert"'', comedy, 1893 *''"Die Geschichte vom abgerissenen Knopfe"'', stories, 1893 *''"Ein Ehrenwort"'', drama, 1894 *''"Meine Verse"'', poetry, 1895 *''"Vom gastfreien Pastor"'', stories, 1895 *''"Der römische Maler"'', novella, 1898 *''"Ein wahrhaft guter Mensch"'', comedy, 1899 *''" Rosenmontag”'', tragedy, 1900 *''"Von reifen Früchten. Meiner Verse zweiter Teil"'', poetry, 1902 *''"Liebe kleine Mama"'', stories, 1904 *''"Diogenes"'', comedy, 1905 *''"Im grünen Baum zur Nachtigall"'', Studentenstück, 1905 *''"Das Ehefest"'', novella, 1906 *''Tagebuch'' 1906 *''Aphorismen'', edited by van den Trelde 1920

Filmography

*''

The Serenyi ''The Serenyi'' (German: ''Die Serenyi'') is a 1918 German silent film directed by Alfred Halm and starring Lya Mara, Erich Kaiser-Titz, and Conrad Veidt.Soister p.316 It is a lost film. Cast * Lya Mara * Erich Kaiser-Titz * Conrad Veidt * Lupu ...

'', directed by

Alfred Halm Alfred Halm (born Alfred Hahn; 9 December 1861 – 5 February 1951) was an Austrian screenwriter and film director. He was the father of the actor Harry Halm. Selected filmography Screenwriter * ''A Drive into the Blue'' (1919) * ''By Order of Po ...

(1918, based on the novella ''Die Serényi'') *'' Rosenmontag'', directed by

Rudolf Meinert Rudolf Meinert (1882–6 March 1943) was an Austrian screenwriter, film producer and film director, director. Meinert was born Rudolf Bürstein in Vienna, but worked for most of his career in the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. He became ...

(1924, based on the play ''Rosenmontag'') *'' Love's Carnival'', directed by Hans Steinhoff (1930, based on the play ''Rosenmontag'') *''Sommerliebe'', directed by Erich Engel (1942, based on the novella ''Die Serényi'') *'' Love's Carnival'', directed by Willy Birgel (1955, based on the play ''Rosenmontag'')

External links

Encyclopædia Britannica: Otto Erich Hartleben
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartleben, Otto Erich 1864 births 1905 deaths 19th-century German poets Writers from Hanover People from the Province of Hanover Leipzig University alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni German male poets German male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights 20th-century German dramatists and playwrights German-language poets 19th-century German translators 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers