Ernst Jandl
Encyclopedia
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, and translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
.
Poetry
Influenced by DadaDada
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...
he started to write experimental poetry, first published in the journal "Neue Wege" (New Ways) in 1952.
He was the life partner of Friederike Mayröcker
Friederike Mayröcker
Friederike Mayröcker is an Austrian poet.- Life :From 1946 to 1969 Mayröcker was an English teacher at several public schools in Vienna. In 1969 she took a release from working as a teacher and in 1977 she retired early.She started writing as a 15 year old...
. In 1973 he co-founded the "Grazer Autorenversammlung
Grazer Autorenversammlung
The Grazer Autorinnen Autorenversammlung was founded under the name of Grazer Autorenversammlung in March 1973 and is one of the two major Austrian writers' association . H. C. Artmann was its first president...
" in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
, became its vice president in 1975 and was its president from 1983 to 1987.
In his poems, he plays with the German language, in many different ways, often at the level of single characters or phonemes. For example, in his famous poem "Ottos Mops" (= "Otto's Pug
Pug
The pug is a "toy" breed of dog with a wrinkly, short-muzzled face, and curled tail. The breed has a fine, glossy coat that comes in a variety of colors, and a compact square body with well-developed muscle. They have been described as multum in parvo , referring to the pug's personality and...
"), the only vowel used is "o".
Of course, poems like this cannot easily be translated into other languages.
Most of his poems are better heard than read. His lectures were always known as very impressive events, because of the particular way he pronounced his poems. Poems like "schtzngrmm" (his version of the word "Schützengraben" which describes the trenches of the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
) can be understood only if read correctly. "schtzngrmm" is an experimental poem in which he tells the sounds of war only with combinations of letters, which sound like gunfires or detonating missiles.
He has translated Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein was an American writer, poet and art collector who spent most of her life in France.-Early life:...
, Robert Creeley
Robert Creeley
Robert Creeley was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school's. He was close with Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Allen Ginsberg, John Wieners and Ed Dorn. He served as the Samuel P...
's The Island, and John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
's Silence.
Some other of his best known poems are "lichtung" (also known as "lechts & rinks", in English "light and reft")
and "kneiernzuck".
An example of a short poem, written in English:
three wives
i never remember my second wife
i never remember my third wife
i always remember what i always remember
ain't ever even had a first wife
Awards
- 1974: Georg-Trakl-Preis (see Georg TraklGeorg TraklGeorg Trakl was an Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists.- Life and work :Trakl was born and lived the first 18 years of his life in Salzburg, Austria...
) - 1982: Anton-Wildgans-Preis
- 1984: Georg-Büchner-Preis (see Georg BüchnerGeorg BüchnerKarl Georg Büchner was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose. He was the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büchner. Büchner's talent is generally held in great esteem in Germany...
) - 1984: Großer Österreichischer Staatspreis für Literatur
- 1988: Deutscher Kleinkunstpreis
- 1993: Kleist-Preis
- 1995: Friedrich-Hölderlin-PreisFriedrich-Hölderlin-PreisFriedrich-Hölderlin-Preis is a literary prize of Germany....
(see Friedrich HölderlinFriedrich HölderlinJohann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin was a major German lyric poet, commonly associated with the artistic movement known as Romanticism. Hölderlin was also an important thinker in the development of German Idealism, particularly his early association with and philosophical influence on his...
)
Poems
- "Ottos Mops" 20. November 1963;
- "Laut und Luise" 1966;
- "sprechblasen" 1968;
- "der künstliche baum" 1970;
- "idyllen" 1989;
- "Aus dem wirklichen Leben" 1999;
- Reft and Light (Providence, RI: Burning DeckBurning Deck PressBurning Deck is a small press specializing in the publication of experimental poetry and prose. Burning Deck was founded by the writers Keith Waldrop and Rosmarie Waldrop in 1961.-Overview:...
, 2000); translated from the German by various American poets, ISBN 1-886224-34-X
Books
- lechts und rinks. gedichte, statements, peppermints; Luchterhand, ISBN 3-630-62043-4, in a poor translation: "light and reft. poems, statements, peppermints"
- laut und luise; Luchterhand, ISBN 3-630-62030-2
- Interpretationen, Gedichte von Ernst Jandl; Reclam, ISBN 3-15-017519-4
- ernst jandl, aus dem wirklichen Leben: gedichte und prosa, with 66 drawings by Hans Ticha, Büchergilde Gutenberg 2000, ISBN 3-7632-4970-2
Literature
- Theo BreuerTheo BreuerTheo Breuer is a German poet, essayist, editor, translator and publisher.-Life and work:...
: Ernst Jandl (1925–2000); in: T.B.: Aus dem Hinterland. Lyrik nach 2000, Edition YE, Sistig/Eifel 2005.
External links
- A collection of web links
- Ernst Jandl on Find-A-Grave
- Writing is the food of the gods Friederike Mayröcker's poem about her companion at signandsight.com
- Ernst Jandl at UbuWeb sound files to download and discussion of his concrete poetryConcrete poetryConcrete poetry or shape poetry is poetry in which the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm, rhyme and so on....
at UbuWebUbuWebUbuWeb is a large web-based educational resource for avant-garde material available on the internet, founded in 1996 by poet Kenneth Goldsmith. It offers visual, concrete and sound poetry, expanding to include film and sound art mp3 archives.-Philosophy:... - author page at Lyrikline.orgLyrikline.orglyrikline.org hosts contemporary international poetry as audio and text , plus bibliographies and biographies for each poet.lyrikline.org was started in November 1999 as a German-language site...
, with audio, text (German, one translation into English).