Hermann Robert Richard Eugen Kasack (24 July 1896 – 10 January 1966) was a German writer. He is best known for his novel '' Die Stadt hinter dem Strom'' (''The city beyond the river''). Kasack was a pioneer of using the medium broadcast for literature. He published radio plays also under the pen names Hermann Wilhelm and Hermann Merten.

Career

Kasack was born in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...

as the only child of a doctor, he studied from 1914 to 1920 national

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

and

history of literature The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment, enlightenment, or instruction to the reader/listener/observer, as well as the development of the literary techniques ...

at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.Hermann Kasack / 1896–1966 / Biographie
from ''Hermann Kasack: Fälschungen. Erzählungen. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1975'',

Universität Potsdam The University of Potsdam is a public university in Potsdam, capital of the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It is mainly situated across three campuses in the city. Some faculty buildings are part of the New Palace of Sanssouci which is known ...

(German) 1996 In 1915, he published his first poem in the magazine ''

Die Aktion ''Die Aktion'' ("The Action") was a German literary and political magazine, edited by Franz Pfemfert and published between 1911 and 1932 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf; it promoted literary Expressionism and stood for left-wing politics. To begin with, '' ...

''. Two years later, a lifelong friendship began with both the painter

Walter Gramatté Walter Gramatté (8 January 1897 in Berlin – 9 February 1929 in Hamburg) was a German expressionist Painting, painter who specialized in magic realism. He worked in Berlin, Hamburg, Hiddensee and Barcelona. He often painted with a mystical v ...

, the model for the painter Catell in '' Die Stadt hinter dem Strom'', and the poet

Oskar Loerke Oskar Loerke (13 March 1884, Jungen – 24 February 1941, Berlin) was a German poet, prose writer, literary critic and essayist. Loerke was a prominent representative of Expressionism and magic realism in Germany. Life and career Loerke was ...

. In 1918, he released a volume of poems, entitled ''Der Mensch. Verse'', which was his first published book. He started working as a

literary editor A literary editor is an editor in a newspaper, magazine or similar publication who deals with aspects concerning literature and books, especially reviews.

in 1920 in the publishing house Gustav-Kiepenheuer-Verlag in Potsdam, where he edited the complete works of

Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Part ...

. From 1925, he worked for the ''Funk-Stunde Berlin''. His drama ''Die Schwester'' was premiered in 1926. He was director at the S. Fischer Verlag until 1927. On 28 March 1933, he was prohibited from working for any broadcast. In 1941, he succeeded Oskar Loerke as literary editor in the S. Fischer Verlag, and took consequently over the direction of the publishing house when Peter Suhrkamp was arrested from 1944. His most famous novel, '' Die Stadt hinter dem Strom'' (The city beyond the river) appeared in 1947, for which he was awarded the Fontane Prize of the city of Berlin two years later.John R. Frey
Hermann Kasack
jstor.org 1957 A 1957 review stated:

But it took the extraordinary event of 1947, the publication of his first novel, ''Die Stadt hinter dem Strom'', to catapult his name into the literary limelight and lift it to true prominence.

In 1948, Kasack was a founding member of the German

PEN A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...

center. He was from 1953 to 1963 the president of the

Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung The Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (in English German Academy for Language and Literature) was founded on 28 August 1949, on the 200th birthday of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt. It is seated in Darmstadt, ...

. He wrote a libretto for an opera ''Die Stadt hinter dem Strom'', which was composed by Hans Vogt and premiered at the

Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden The Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden ('Hessian State Theatre Wiesbaden') is a German theatre located in Wiesbaden, in the German state Hesse. The company produces operas, plays, ballets, musicals and concerts on four stages. Known also as the ...

in 1955 as part of the

Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden The Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden (International May Festival, IMF) is a theater festival in Wiesbaden, Germany. Established in the late 19th century after the Bayreuth Festival, the festival is one of the most distinguished internationa ...

.Hans Vogt
Fritz Oeser
fritz-oeser.de In 1956, he was awarded the

Goethe-Plakette des Landes Hessen Goethe-Plakette (Goethe Plaque) is the highest award by the Hessian Ministry for Science and the Arts of the federal state of Hesse, Germany, named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It has been awarded since 1949 at irregular intervals. The award ...

. Kasack died on 10 January 1966 in his home in Stuttgart. His son Wolfgang Kasack (1927–2003) was a German Slavist.

Selected works

Drama

* ''Die Schwester. Eine Tragödie in acht Stationen'' (''The Sister. A Tragedy in Eight Stations''), Berlin 1920 * ''Die tragische Sendung. Ein dramatisches Ereignis in zehn Szenen'' (''The Tragic Mission. A Dramatic Event in Ten Scenes''), Berlin 1920 (Potsdam 1993) * ''Vincent'', play in 5 acts, Potsdam 1924 * ''Die Stadt hinter dem Strom'', libretto of an "Oratorische Oper" in 3 acts, Frankfurt am Main 1954

Radio plays

* ''Stimmen im Kampf'', Berlin 1930, first broadcast 7 December 1930 (30 min) * ''Tull, der Meisterspringer'', Berlin 1932, 10 radio plays for children, extant: ''Kinderreise mit Tull'' (34 min) and ''Tull's Kinderolympiade'' (27 min) * ''Eine Stimme von Tausend'', Berlin 1932, first broadcast 6 October 1932 (12 min) * ''Der Ruf'', Berlin 1932, first broadcast 12 December 1932 (58 min)

Novels

*'' Die Stadt hinter dem Strom'', Berlin 1947 * ''Das große Netz'', Berlin/Frankfurt am Main 1952

Literature

*Pierre Lech: ''Hermann Kasack und der zeitkritische Roman der Gegenwart.'' Echternach/Luxemburg 1956 (Univ., Diss., 1956) * Wolfgang Kasack (editor): ''Leben und Werk von Hermann Kasack. Ein Brevier.'' Suhrkamp 1966. * Heribert Besch: ''Dichtung zwischen Vision und Wirklichkeit. Eine Analyse des Werkes von Hermann Kasack mit Tagebuchedition (1930–1943).'' Röhrig, St. Ingbert 1992, * Tufarulo,G,M.- Il mondo è vero, il mondo è falso, parola di Hermann Kasack !- Pensiero e Arte,2004

References

External links

Kasack / 1896–1966 / Eine Bibliographie

1996
Hermann Robert Richard Eugen Kasack
Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach

Audio-CD No. wo01, Frankfurt/M. und Potsdam 2004, Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv, containing the radio plays ''Eine Stimme von Tausend'' and ''Der Ruf'', also a contribution about Bertolt Brecht
Was Kinder gerne hör(t)en
Audio-CD No. mu03, Frankfurt/M. und Potsdam 2003, Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv, containing a collectiong of children's songs and children's radio plays from the 1930s and 1950s, including ''Tull's Kinderolympiade'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kasack, Hermann 1896 births 1966 deaths People from Potsdam People from the Province of Brandenburg 20th-century German poets Writers from Brandenburg German radio writers Humboldt University of Berlin alumni 20th-century German novelists German male poets German male novelists German male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century German dramatists and playwrights German-language poets Members of the German Academy for Language and Literature 20th-century German male writers