Kürschners Deutscher Literatur-Kalender
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The ''Kürschners Deutscher Literatur-Kalender'' is a reference work that currently contains around 12,000 bio-bibliographic articles and addresses of writers of
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 a ...
, as well as
translators Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
,
publishers Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
, agencies,
radio stations Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio signal, audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-b ...
, writers' associations,
academies An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...
,
literary magazines A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters ...
and
feuilletons A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of french: feuillet, the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criti ...
,
literary prize A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded Literature, literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ...
s and awards in the
German-speaking countries The following is a list of the countries and territories where German is an official language (also known as the Germanosphere). It includes countries that have German as (one of) their nationwide official language(s), as well as dependent terr ...
. Currently it is published every other year in two volumes by the publisher
Walter de Gruyter Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature. History The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...
. The reference work is named after the specialist in German studies
Joseph Kürschner Joseph Kürschner (20 September 1853, in Gotha – 29 July 1902, on a journey to Huben) was a German author and editor most often cited for his critical edition of classics from German literature. Biography At first engaged in mechanical en ...
.


History

For more than 130 years ''Kürschners Deutscher Literatur-Kalender'' has documented the contemporary literary scene. The compendium, constituted in 1879 by
Heinrich Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...
and
Julius Hart The brothers Heinrich and Julius Hart were German writers and literary critics who collaborated closely. They were among the pioneers of naturalism in German literature. Heinrich was born 30 December 1855, in Wesel and died 11 June 1906, in Te ...
, was resumed in 1883 by Joseph Kürschner, who, with strategic and economic foresight, expanded it by introducing a questionnaire for authors, expanded the content from a list of 1260 writers to around 16,000 entries (in the 10th year) and made it a popular and comprehensive reference work. Without any critical judgement, the literary calendar presents living authors of German language fiction – regardless of their citizenship and where they live and work. After Kürschner’s death in 1902 the calendar was continued by numerous editors, among them in the beginning Hermann Hillger, Heinrich Klenz,
Gerhard Lüdtke Gerhard is a name of Germanic origin and may refer to: Given name * Gerhard (bishop of Passau) (fl. 932–946), German prelate * Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (1292–1340), German prince, regent of Denmark * Gerhard Barkhorn (1919–19 ...
, Erich Neuner or Hans Strodel, in the spirit of its origins. Initially it registered authors of "aesthetic“ works as well as "educated“, academically active writers. Due to the abundance of material, ''
Kürschners Deutscher Gelehrten-Kalender ''Kürschners Deutscher Gelehrten-Kalender'' (English: "Kürschner's Encyclopedia of German Scholars"), formerly subtitled ''Lexikon der lebenden deutschsprachigen Wissenschaftler'' ("Encyclopedia of Living German-Speaking Scholars"), is a German l ...
'' was published as a separate work from 1925 and soon outreached the extent of its older counterpart. During the National Socialist regime the editor had to bow to the requirement of publishing only entries about members of the Reichsschrifttumkammer (Reich literature chamber). However, in 1936 he managed to publish the ''Necrology 1901-1935'' listing the authors that had died since 1900 and their works; thus also he could be accused of publishing "unwanted writings“. In 1949 the work was again published according to the original editorial principles. The editor
Werner Schuder Werner Schuder (25 February 1917 - 20 October 2006) was a German publisher. Life Born in Berlin, Schuder completed an apprenticeship in book trade and librarianship. After his studies, he first worked as a librarian in the university library a ...
was responsible for the years from 1958 up to the 1980s. After not being published for a while, its publisher changed in 1998: librarian and copy editor Andreas Klimt accepted the challenge of updating and continuing the reference work for the publishing house
K. G. Saur Verlag K. G. Saur Verlag is a German publisher that specializes in reference information for libraries. The publishing house, founded by Karl Saur, is owned by Walter de Gruyter and is based in Munich. In 1987, K. G. Saur was acquired by Reed Intern ...
in
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
with the 61st edition. The publishing house Walter de Gruyter took over K. G. Saur Verlag, so ''Kürschners Deutscher Literatur-Kalender'' is published again by its original publisher since the 67th edition of 2010/2011. The 71st edition of ''Kürschners Deutscher Literatur-Kalender'' contains, in addition to entries on ca. 12,000 writers, over 800 literary translators, over 1000 publishers, over 500 literary awards with awardees, more than 600 professional unions and literary associations, houses of literature, about 300 literary magazines and periodicals as well as literary agencies, cultural departments of radio and television channels and literary feuilletons. Articles on the individual authors in alphabetical order provide information about addresses, biographical data, memberships in professional unions and literary associations, literary awards and about the writers‘ publications. The latest version of the work in two volumes was published in September 2018.


Reception

"When the specialist in German studies, magazine editor and theatre critic Joseph Kürschner, a very ambitious personality, took over the Literaturkalender from its founders Heinrich and Julius Hart in its fifth year in 1883, it was a slim
duodecimo Paper size standards govern the size of sheets of paper used as writing paper, stationery, cards, and for some printed documents. The ISO 216 standard, which includes the commonly used A4 size, is the international standard for paper size. I ...
book without any economical success. Kürschner introduced the distribution of questionnaires for authors and made the calendar a register, being listed in which became very popular. The number of 1260 names in the fourth year had gone up to 16,000 in the tenth. The venture prospered, and after Kürschner’s death successors were easily found who continued it in the spirit of its beginnings. That means: banning literary criticism, extreme value freedom, documentation of the facts of literary life.“ – Joachim Güntner - ''
Neue Zürcher Zeitung The ''Neue Zürcher Zeitung'' (''NZZ''; "New Journal of Zürich") is a Swiss, German-language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zürich. The paper was founded in 1780. It was described as having a reputation as a high-quality ne ...
'': "A monument made of facts – ''Kürschners Deutscher Literatur-Kalender'' has always been striving for completeness." "Once Roda Roda was challenged by friends: he might be able to achieve many things, but not one in particular. Never ever would he be first in ''Kürschner''. The year ended, the new ''Kürschner'' was published, and it started with: Aaba, see Roda Roda. (In which the considerate double A is especially nice: so really nothing bad can happen.) Today Aaba Aaba is still the first name in ''Kürschners Literaturkalender''." –
Kurt Tucholsky Kurt Tucholsky (; 9 January 1890 – 21 December 1935) was a German journalist, satirist, and writer. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Kaspar Hauser (after the historical figure), Peter Panter, Theobald Tiger and Ignaz Wrobel. Tucholsky was on ...
: "The new Kürschner“. ''Kürschners Deutscher Literatur-Kalender'' in Kurt Tucholsky „Der neue Kürschner“, Rezension zum 44. Jg. 1928, in „Die Weltbühne“ 44/1928
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Current edition

* ''Kürschners Deutscher Literatur-Kalender'' 2020/2021. 72. Jahrgang in 2 Teilen. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2020, (Print).


References


External links


''Kürschners Deutscher Literatur-Kalender''
Website De Gruyter
''Kürschners Deutscher Literatur-Kalender''
Informations of the Bibliotheksservice-Zentrum Baden-Württemberg
Daten zu ''Kürschners Deutscher Literatur-Kalender'' in der Deutschen National-Bibliothek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurschners Deutscher Literatur-Kalender German encyclopedias German-language encyclopedias De Gruyter books Publications established in 1879 German biographical dictionaries 19th-century encyclopedias 20th-century encyclopedias 21st-century encyclopedias