George Sylvester Viereck
Encyclopedia
George Sylvester Viereck (born December 31, 1884, Munich, Germany – died March 18, 1962) was a German
-American
poet
, writer
, and propagandist.
; his U.S.-born wife Laura and their twelve year old son followed in 1897.
While still in college in 1904, George Sylvester Viereck, with the help of literary critic Ludwig Lewisohn
, published his first collection of poems. He graduated from the College of the City of New York
in 1906. The next year his collection Nineveh and Other Poems (1907) won Viereck national fame. A number were written in the style of the Uranian male love poetry
of the time.
In the 1920s, Viereck became close friends with Nikola Tesla
. According to Tesla, Viereck was the greatest contemporary American poet. Tesla occasionally attended dinner parties held by Viereck and his wife. He dedicated his poem "Fragments of Olympian Gossip" to Viereck, a work in which Tesla ridiculed the scientific establishment of the day. Between 1907 and 1912, Viereck turned into a Germanophile. In 1908 he published the best-selling Confessions of a Barbarian. Viereck lectured at the University of Berlin
on American poetry in 1911.
Viereck founded two publications, The International
and The Fatherland
, which argued the German cause during World War I
. Viereck became a well-known Nazi
apologist. He conducted an interview with Adolf Hitler
in 1923 that offered hints of what was to come. In 1941, he was indicted in the U.S. for a violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act
when he set up his publishing house, Flanders Hall, in Scotch Plains, New Jersey
. He was convicted in 1942 for this failure to register with the U. S. Department of State as a Nazi agent. He was imprisoned from 1942 to 1947.
Viereck's memoir of life in prison
, Men into Beasts, was published as a paperback
original by Fawcett Publications
in 1952. The book is a general memoir of discomfort, loss of dignity, and brutality in prison life. The front matter and backcover text focuses on the situational homosexuality and male rape described in the book (witnessed, not experienced, by Viereck). The book, while a memoir
, is thus the first original title of 1950s gay pulp fiction
, an emerging genre in that decade.
Viereck also published a vampire
novel, The House of the Vampire (1907), which is one of the first psychic vampire
stories where a vampire feeds off more than just blood
.
, was a historian, political writer and poet. A 2005 The New Yorker
article discusses how the younger Viereck both rejected and was shaped by the ideologies of his father.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
, writer
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....
, and propagandist.
Biography
George Viereck was born in Germany, to a German father and American-born mother. His father Louis, born out of wedlock to German actress Edwina Viereck, was reputed to be a son of Kaiser Wilhelm I. Another relative of the Hohenzollern family assumed legal paternity of the boy. In the 1870s Louis Viereck joined the Marxist socialist movement. In 1896 Viereck emigrated to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; his U.S.-born wife Laura and their twelve year old son followed in 1897.
While still in college in 1904, George Sylvester Viereck, with the help of literary critic Ludwig Lewisohn
Ludwig Lewisohn
Ludwig Lewisohn was an outspoken critic of American Jewish assimilation, novelist and translator, known for his novel The Island Within. He wrote several autobiographies, translated German literature and wrote the preface to the first English language edition of Otto Rank's seminal work Art and...
, published his first collection of poems. He graduated from the College of the City of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
in 1906. The next year his collection Nineveh and Other Poems (1907) won Viereck national fame. A number were written in the style of the Uranian male love poetry
Uranian poetry
The Uranians were a small and somewhat clandestine group of male pederastic poets who published works between 1858 and 1930...
of the time.
In the 1920s, Viereck became close friends with Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
. According to Tesla, Viereck was the greatest contemporary American poet. Tesla occasionally attended dinner parties held by Viereck and his wife. He dedicated his poem "Fragments of Olympian Gossip" to Viereck, a work in which Tesla ridiculed the scientific establishment of the day. Between 1907 and 1912, Viereck turned into a Germanophile. In 1908 he published the best-selling Confessions of a Barbarian. Viereck lectured at the University of Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
on American poetry in 1911.
Viereck founded two publications, The International
The International
The International may refer to:*The International , a 2009 film starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts*The International , a video game tournament for Dota 2...
and The Fatherland
The Fatherland
The Fatherland was a World War I era weekly periodical published by poet, writer, and noted propagandist George Sylvester Viereck . Having been born in Munich, Germany, and moved to New York City in 1896, Viereck graduated from the College of the City of New York and directly entered the world of...
, which argued the German cause during 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...
. Viereck became a well-known Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
apologist. He conducted an interview with Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
in 1923 that offered hints of what was to come. In 1941, he was indicted in the U.S. for a violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act
Foreign Agents Registration Act
The Foreign Agents Registration Act is a United States law passed in 1938 requiring that agents representing the interests of foreign powers be properly identified to the American public. The act was passed in response to German propaganda in the lead-up to World War II...
when he set up his publishing house, Flanders Hall, in Scotch Plains, New Jersey
Scotch Plains, New Jersey
Scotch Plains is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the township population increased to a record high of 23,510.-History:...
. He was convicted in 1942 for this failure to register with the U. S. Department of State as a Nazi agent. He was imprisoned from 1942 to 1947.
Viereck's memoir of life in prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
, Men into Beasts, was published as a paperback
Paperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
original by Fawcett Publications
Fawcett Publications
Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota by Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett . At the age of 16, Fawcett ran away from home to join the Army, and the Spanish-American War took him to the Philippines. Back in Minnesota, he became a...
in 1952. The book is a general memoir of discomfort, loss of dignity, and brutality in prison life. The front matter and backcover text focuses on the situational homosexuality and male rape described in the book (witnessed, not experienced, by Viereck). The book, while a memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
, is thus the first original title of 1950s gay pulp fiction
Gay pulp fiction
Gay pulp fiction, or gay pulps, refers to printed works, primarily fiction, that include references to male homosexuality, specifically male gay sex, and that are cheaply produced, typically in paperback books made of wood pulp paper; lesbian pulp fiction is similar work about women...
, an emerging genre in that decade.
Viereck also published a vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
novel, The House of the Vampire (1907), which is one of the first psychic vampire
Psychic vampire
A psychic vampire is a person or being who claims to feed off the "life force" of other living creatures. Psychic vampires are represented in the occult beliefs of various cultures and in fiction...
stories where a vampire feeds off more than just blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
.
Family
His son, Peter ViereckPeter Viereck
Peter Robert Edwin Viereck , was an American poet and political thinker, as well as a professor of history at Mount Holyoke College for five decades.-Background:...
, was a historian, political writer and poet. A 2005 The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
article discusses how the younger Viereck both rejected and was shaped by the ideologies of his father.
Foreign editions
- La Maison du Vampire, French translation of The House of the Vampire (La Clef d'ArgentSilver Key PressSilver Key Press is the anglophone imprint of the French non-profit small press La Clef d'Argent specializing in weird fiction, fantastique, fantasy and science fiction.It was named as an explicit homage to H. P...
, 2003).