Martin Johannes Walser (; 24 March 1927 – 26 July 2023) was a German writer, known especially as a novelist. He began his career as journalist for Süddeutscher Rundfunk, where he wrote and directed . He was a member of Group 47 from 1953 on.
His first novel, Marriage in Philippsburg, a satirical portrait of postwar society, became a success in 1957. Walser then turned to freelance writing. He published a trilogy of novels about the character Anselm Kristlein, beginning with Halbzeit in 1960, Das Einhorn ( The Unicorn) in 1966 and ending with Der Sturz ( The Fall) in 1973. Most of his major works have been translated into English, including the 1978 novella Runaway Horse, which was successful with both readers and critics. He also wrote plays ( Die Zimmerschlacht), screenplays, story collections and essays. Several of his books have been adapted to the screen, including Runaway Horse in 1986 and again in 2007.
Walser received many awards, including the Georg Büchner Prize in 1981 and the Peace Prize of the German Publishers' Association in 1998. His acceptance speech for the Peace Prize caused controversy with Walser's remarks on German commemoration of the Holocaust. The "monumentalization of shame", he said, risks turning remembrance of the Holocaust into a "lip service" ritual. In 2002, Walser's portrayal of the literary critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki in his novel ("Death of a Critic") was regarded as anti-Semitic.
Walser is regarded, along with Heinrich Böll, Günter Grass, and Siegfried Lenz, as one of Germany's most influential postwar authors.
Early life and education
Walser was born on 24 March 1927 in Wasserburg, on
Lake Constance. His parents were
coal merchant who also kept an inn next to the train station in Wasserburg.
The second of three children, Walser lost his father at age ten.
He described the environment in which he grew up in his novel
A Gushing Fountain.
From 1938 to 1943 he attended the secondary school in
Lindau, until his induction to the armed forces, initially as an auxiliary.
According to documents released in June 2007, he became a member of the
Nazi Party on 20 April 1944 at age 17.
Walser denied that he knowingly entered the party, and assumed that he was enrolled by a garrison commander as part of a larger group without his knowledge.
The claim was disputed by Hans-Dieter Kreikamp from the German Federal Archives, who said that a personal signature was formally required, even in times of war.
By the end of the Second World War, Walser was a soldier in the
Wehrmacht.
After the war, he completed his Abitur in Lindau in 1946.
Career
While studying, Walser worked as a reporter for the
Süddeutscher Rundfunk broadcasting company, and wrote and directed his first
.
He travelled to Czechoslovakia, England, France, Italy, and Poland as part of his job.
In 1950 Walser married Katharina "Käthe" Neuner-Jehle; the couple had four daughters.
Beginning in 1953, Walser was regularly invited to conferences of the Group 47, which was focused on literature for a new democratic Germany.
The book became a huge success,
Walser's most famous and best-selling work was the novella Runaway Horse, published in 1978. It was both a commercial and a critical success, and was described as "Walser's most beautiful and mature book and a masterful, searing critique of society".
In 2004 Walser left his long-time publisher Suhrkamp Verlag for Rowohlt Verlag after the death of the Suhrkamp director .
Walser was a member of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, the Sächsische Akademie der Künste, the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung in Darmstadt, and the German P.E.N.
In 2007 the German political magazine Cicero placed Walser second on its list of the 500 most important German intellectuals, behind Pope Benedict XVI and ahead of Nobel Prize winner Günter Grass.
Work
Walser's subjects were often broken heroes who found it difficult to live up to the requirements of society or their own expectations. Walser said: "I think that world literature is about losers. That's just the way it is. From Antigone to Josef K. — there are no winners, no champions. And furthermore, anyone can confirm that in their circle of acquaintances: People are always more interesting when they are losing than when they are winning."
He wrote his most successful book, the novella Runaway Horse, in just two weeks. Its protagonists are two very different men, former school friends who experience a mid-life crisis.
Walser's books have been translated into many languages.
Death of a Critic
In his 2002 roman-à-clef
Death of a Critic, Walser, who disliked literary critics in general, denounced one of the most prominent in Germany, of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (
FAZ).
Critics characterized his portrayal as "playing on numerous anti-Semitic cliches".
The novel caused a scandal, especially in view of Reich-Ranicki's Jewish heritage and Walser's former membership in the Nazi Party.
The novel was hotly debated even before it was released. Frank Schirrmacher, editor of the
FAZ, refused to print an advance excerpt in the paper, as had traditionally been done for Walser's books.
In May 2010, Reich-Ranicki commented in an interview with Der Spiegel: "I don't think he is an anti-Semite. But it is important to him to demonstrate that the critic who allegedly tortured him most is also a Jew. He expects his public to follow him in this. You see, there never was an anti-Semitic line or remark from Grass, not one. And I certainly haven't written only positively about his books."
Political engagement
Walser was known for his political activity.
In 1961, he was the first literary writer to support the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in an election campaign.
In 1964, Walser attended the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial, and was involved in protests against the Vietnam War.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Walser moved further to the left and was considered a sympathizer of the DKP, the newly formed West German Communist Party. He was friends with leading German Marxists such as and even visited Moscow during this time. By the 1980s, Walser began shifting back to the political right. In 1988 he gave a series of lectures titled "Speeches about One's Own Country" in which he made clear that he considered the division of Germany a painful and intolerable gulf.
Personal life
In 1950, Walser married Katharina ("Käthe") Neuner-Jehle. The couple had four daughters:
the actress
Franziska Walser, the writer and painter
Alissa Walser, the writer
Johanna Walser, and the writer
Theresia Walser.
German journalist
Jakob Augstein is Walser's son from a relationship with translator
Maria Carlsson.
[Gerrit Bartels: Augstein und Walser. Vater und Sohn: Eine gewisse Ähnlichkeit. In: Der Tagesspiegel. 28 November 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2012.]
Walser died in Nussdorf on 26 July 2023,[ Schriftsteller Martin Walser bereits am 26. Juli gestorben. In: FR.de, 4 August 2023.] at age 96.
Awards
Walser was awarded the Hermann Hesse Prize in 1957 for his first novel.
He received the Georg Büchner Prize in 1981,
the Ricarda Huch Prize of Darmstadt in 1990,
the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in 1998, and the Friedrich Nietzsche Prize in 2015 for his life's achievements,
among many other awards.
Peace Prize of the German Book Trade
In 1998 Walser was awarded the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. His acceptance speech, given at St. Paul's Church in Frankfurt, invoked issues of historical memory and political engagement in contemporary German politics and unleashed a controversy that roiled German intellectual circles. Walser's acceptance speech was titled: "italic=no" (Experiences while drafting a soap box speech):
At first the speech caused no great stir; the audience received the speech with applause, though Ignatz Bubis, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, did not applaud, as confirmed by television footage of the event.[Eshel, Amir: "Jewish Memories, German Futures: Recent Debates in Germany about the Past" , page 12. 2000. (PDF-File, 6 MB)] Some days after the event, and again on 9November, the 60th anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom against German Jews, Bubis accused Walser of "intellectual arson" (geistige Brandstiftung)
Works
Walser's books were published by Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt, until 2003. The publisher printed an edition of his works in 12 volumes in 1997.
Beginning in 2004, Walser's works were published by Rowohlt, Reinbek. His works include:
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Beschreibung einer Form: Versuch über die epische Dichtung Franz Kafkas, dissertation (1951)
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, story collection (1955),
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Ehen in Philippsburg, novel (1957) – The Gadarene Club (1960) / Marriage in Philippsburg (1961)
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Halbzeit, novel (1960) , first part of the Anselm Kristlein trilogy
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, play (1962) – The Rabbit Race (1963) – adapted by Ronald Duncan ,
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, play (1964)
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Überlebensgroß Herr Krott: Requiem für einen Unsterblichen (1964)
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, story collection (1964)
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Erfahrungen und Leseerfahrungen (1965)
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Das Einhorn, novel (1966) , second part of the Anselm Kristlein trilogy
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Der Abstecher, Die Zimmerschlacht, two plays (1967)
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, essays and speeches (1968)
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, play in two acts (1970)
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Fiction, story (1970)
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Aus dem Wortschatz unserer Kämpfe (1971)
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Die Gallistl'sche Krankheit, novel (1972)
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Der Sturz (1973) , third part of the Anselm Kristlein trilogy
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Das Sauspiel: Szenen aus dem 16. Jahrhundert (1975)
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, novel (1976) – Beyond All Love (1983)
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Runaway Horse (1978) – Runaway Horse: A Novel (1987)
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, novel (1979) – The Inner Man (1984)
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, novel (1980) – The Swan Villa (1983)
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Selbstbewußtsein und Ironie, Frankfurt lectures (1981)
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, novel (1982) – Letter to Lord Liszt (1985)
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In Goethes Hand: Szenen aus dem 19. Jahrhundert (1982)
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Liebeserklärungen (1983)
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Brandung, novel (1985) – Breakers: A Novel (1987)
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Meßmers Gedanken (1985)
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Geständnis auf Raten (1986)
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Die Amerikareise: Versuch, ein Gefühl zu verstehen (with , Kunstverlag Weingarten, 1986)
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Dorle und Wolf, novella (1987) – No Man's Land (1988)
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, novel (1988)
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Über Deutschland reden (1988)
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, novel (1991)
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Das Sofa (written 1961, published 1992)
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, novel (1993)
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Vormittag eines Schriftstellers (1994)
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Kaschmir in Parching: Szenen aus der Gegenwart (1995)
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, novel (1996)
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Deutsche Sorgen (1997)
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Heimatlob: Ein Bodensee-Buch, illustrated book about Lake Constance (with Ficus, Insel Verlag, 1998)
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Ein springender Brunnen, novel (1998) – A Gushing Fountain (2015)
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, novel (2000)
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, novel (2002)
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Meßmers Reisen (2003)
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, novel (2004)
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Die Verwaltung des Nichts, essays (2004)
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Leben und Schreiben: Tagebücher 1951–1962, diaries (2005)
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Angstblüte, novel (2006)
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Der Lebensroman des Andreas Beck, novel about (Edition Isele, Eggingen, 2006)
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Das geschundene Tier, 39 ballads (2007) .
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The Burden of the Past: Martin Walser on Modern German Identity (in English, 2008), ,
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Ein liebender Mann, novel about the aging Goethe (2008)
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Leben und Schreiben. Tagebücher 1963–1973, diaries (2008) .
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Mein Jenseits, novella (Berlin University Press, 2010) .
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Leben und Schreiben. Tagebücher 1974–1978, diaries (2010)
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Muttersohn novel (2011)
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Meine Lebensreisen (Corso, Hamburg, 2012)
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Über Rechtfertigung, eine Versuchung: Zeugen und Zeugnisse (2012)
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Das dreizehnte Kapitel (2012)
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Meßmers Momente (2013)
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Die Inszenierung (2013)
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Shmekendike blumen. Ein Denkmal / A dermonung für Sholem Yankev Abramovitsh. (2014)
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Schreiben und Leben. Tagebücher 1979–1981, diaries (2014)
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Ein sterbender Mann (2016)
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Statt etwas, oder Der letzte Rank (2017)
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Ewig aktuell : aus gegebenem Anlass. (2017)
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with Jakob Augstein: Das Leben wortwörtlich. Ein Gespräch., conversation (2017)
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Gar alles oder Briefe an eine unbekannte Geliebte. (2018)
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Spätdienst. Bekenntnis und Stimmung, with illustrations by Alissa Walser (2018)
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Mädchenleben oder Die Heiligsprechung. Legende. (2019)
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Sprachlaub oder: Wahr ist, was schön ist (2021)
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Das Traumbuch. Postkarten aus dem Schlaf, with Cornelia Schleime (2022)
Film scripts
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Chiarevalle wird entdeckt, directed by Hannes Tannert (1963, TV film)
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Das Unheil ( Havoc), directed by Peter Fleischmann (1972)
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Weak Spot, directed by Peter Fleischmann (1975)
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Tatort: , 1989 episode directed by
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Tassilo, directed by (1991, TV series, 6 episodes)
Films of Walser's novels and plays
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Der Abstecher, directed by (1962, TV film, based on the play of the same name)
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Eiche und Angora, directed by (1964, TV film, based on the play of the same name)
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Eiche und Angora, directed by (East Germany, 1965, TV film, based on the play of the same name)
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Die Zimmerschlacht, directed by Franz Peter Wirth (1969, TV film, based on the play of the same name)
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Überlebensgroß Herr Krott, directed by Martin Batty and Karl Vibach (1971, TV film, based on the play of the same name)
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Das Einhorn, directed by Peter Patzak (1978, based on the novel of the same name)
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, directed by Alf Brustellin (1979, based on the novel of the same name)
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, directed by Peter Beauvais (1986, TV film, based on the novella of the same name)
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Alles aus Liebe: Säntis, directed by (1986, TV series episode, based on the story Säntis)
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Ohne einander, directed by (2007, TV film, based on the novel of the same name)
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, directed by Rainer Kaufmann (2007, based on the novella of the same name)
Notes
External links
