Peter Härtling (; 13 November 1933 – 10 July 2017) was a German writer,

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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, publisher and journalist. He received the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

for his major contribution to

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy ...

Biography

Härtling was born in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

and spent the early part of his childhood living in Hartmannsdorf, Mittweida, where his father maintained a law firm. Following the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the family moved to the German-occupied town of

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

. Like many of the town's German residents, Härtling's family fled before the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

's advance on the city during the final months of the war; the family briefly settled in

Zwettl Zwettl (; Central Bavarian: ''Zwedl''; Czech: ''Světlá'') is a town and district capital of the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is chiefly known as the location of Zwettl Abbey, first mentioned in October 1139. History The name origina ...

, Austria. Härtling's father was captured by the Russians, and died in June 1945 at the

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

in Dollersheim. Following the conclusion of

, Härtling finally settled in Nürtingen,

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

. His mother committed suicide in October 1946. He studied under HAP Grieshaber at the Bernsteinschule art school, before starting work as a journalist. Härtling had his first collection of poetry published in 1953. From 1967 to 1973, Härtling was the managing director of the German publishing house S. Fischer Verlag, located in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. Härtling became a full-time writer after leaving S. Fischer Verlag. In the winter semester of 1983/84, he hosted the annual Frankfurter Poetik-Vorlesungen, a lecture series, in which a prominent writer discourses on topics pertaining to their work. Härtling used his lectureship to demonstrate the process of using a

found object A found object (a calque from the French ''objet trouvé''), or found art, is art created from undisguised, but often modified, items or products that are not normally considered materials from which art is made, often because they already hav ...

as the inspiration for a literary work. During the series of lectures, he wrote ''Der spanische Soldat'', a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

based on a photograph by Robert Capa. Härtling worked as the editor of the magazine ''Der Monat'', and as the president of the Hölderlin society. In 1973, he moved to

Mörfelden-Walldorf Mörfelden-Walldorf () is a town in the Groß-Gerau (district), Groß-Gerau district, situated in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region in the federal state (Bundesland) Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Mörfelden-Walldorf is situated within a tria ...

where he lived until his death on 10 July 2017.

Literary themes

Härtling devoted a large proportion of his literary output – both in poetry, and in prose – to the reclamation of history, and his own past. His autobiographical novel, ''Zwettl'' (1973), deals with the period he spent living in Lower Austria, after his family fled from the Red Army. ''Nachgetragene Liebe'' (1980) recounts Härtling's earliest memories of his deceased father. Another major influence on Härtling's works has been the literature and music of

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

. Amongst other works, Härtling has written fictionalised biographical works on the writers Friedrich Hölderlin, Wilhelm Waiblinger and E. T. A. Hoffmann, and the composers

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

, and

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

Children's literature

In 1969, after writing a eulogy for the Czech children's writer Jan Procházka, Härtling began writing books for children. His first children's book, ''Und das ist die ganze Familie'', was published the following year. His children's literature has often focused on social problems involving children. In ''Das war der Hirbel'' (1973), he wrote about the home of a maladjusted child, and ''Oma'' (1975) talks about aging and death, whilst ''Theo haut ab'' (1977) deals with being uprooted from home and family. There are English translations of several of his children's books, including ''Granny'' (''Oma''), ''Crutches'' (''Krücke''), ''Ben Loves Anna'' (''Ben liebt Anna''), ''Old John'' (''Alter John''), and ''Herbie's World'' (''Das war der Hirbel'').

Radio

Härtling moderated ''Literatur im Kreuzverhör'', a radio show on the cultural radio station of

Hessischer Rundfunk (; "Hesse Broadcasting"), shortened to HR (; stylized as hr), is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations, A ...

Awards

Peter Härtling's awards include: * 1964: Deutscher Kritikerpreis for ''Niembsch'' * 1965:

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

Literature Prize for ''Niembsch'' * 1966: Ehrengabe des Kulturkreises im Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie for ''Niembsch''. Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger for the French edition of ''Niembsch'' * 1971: Gerhart Hauptmann prize of the Freien Volksbühne Berlin for ''Gilles'' * 1974: Schubart-Literaturpreis * 1976: Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (Children's book) for ''Oma''. * 1977: Stadtschreiber von Bergen * 1978: Wilhelmine-Lübke-Preis * 1980: Zurich children's literature prize ''La vache qui lit'' for ''Ben liebt Anna'' and ''Sofie macht Geschichten''. * 1982: Naturschutzpreis der Kreisgruppe Groß-Gerau des Bundes für Umwelt und Naturschutz. * 1987: Hermann Sinsheimer prize and Friedrich Hölderlin prize * 1992: Lion Feuchtwanger prize. * 1994: Awarded the title of

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

by the state of

* 1995: Awarded the Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz * 1995: Mainzer Stadtschreiber * 1996: Awarded the Wilhelm Leuschner medal of

Hessen Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major historic cities are Da ...

* 1996: Awarded the Karl Preusker Medal by the German Literature Conference * 2000: Eichendorff Literature Prize * 2001: Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (Special prize) for his major contribution to children's literature * 2001: Dresdner Poetikdozentur zur Literatur Mitteleuropas (Publikatio

* 2003: Deutscher Bücherpreis for his contribution to literature * 2004: Honorary citizen of Nürtingen * 2006: Gerty Spies Literature Prize * 2006: Finalist,

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

"2006"
''Hans Christian Andersen Awards''.

International Board on Books for Young People International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(IBBY). With contemporary material including th
press release, 27 March 2006
Retrieved 22 March 2014. * 2007: Corine Literature Prize of the Bavarian Prime Minister for his contribution to literature * 2010: Jacob Grimm Prize * 2014: Hessischer Kulturpreis

Music

Wilhelm Killmayer set nine of his poems in his song cycle ' in 1968.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartling, Peter 1933 births 2017 deaths Writers from Chemnitz 20th-century German novelists 21st-century German novelists Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg German children's writers 20th-century German poets German male short story writers German male poets German male novelists German-language poets Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin German male essayists 20th-century German short story writers 21st-century German short story writers 20th-century German essayists 21st-century German essayists 20th-century German male writers 21st-century German male writers