Alfred Mombert (6 February 1872, in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

– 8 April 1942, in

Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...

) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Biography

Mombert was the son of the Jewish-German merchant Eduard Mombert and his wife Helene Gombertz. The economist Paul Mombert was his cousin. In 1890, he passed his Abitur at the humanistischen Grossherzoglichen Gymnasium in his home city of Karlsruhe, and then completed his one-year military service as a volunteer. From 1891 to 1895 he studied law at the universities of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. In 1896, he passed his first states exam in Heidelberg, and received his doctorate one year later without a dissertation. Afterwards, he proceeded to work as a legal trainee and assistant, he passed his second state exam in 1899. From 1899 to 1906 he practiced law in Heidelberg, where he lived until 1940, a few years in Munich (1909-1911), until 1940. After 1906, he left his occupation and proceeded to devote himself to his literary work. Accompanying his literary pursuits, Mombert studied subjects such as geography, oriental studies, along with taking many trips, particularly to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Mombert managed also to visit a multitude of other countries: Egypt, Algeria, Greece, The Netherlands, Croatia, Morocco, Monaco, Norway, Austria, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Czechoslovakia, and Tunisia. All the while he was intensively studying ancient Nordic, Oriental, and Indian mythology. This intense study, along with serious contact with the works of

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

, and a visionary, life-defining experience from January 1894 lay the groundwork for a kind of mythological-cosmological private religion that he developed through subsequent poetry after The Glowing One. His mythological-visionary works were highly valued by Friedrich Kurt Benndorf,

Richard Benz Richard Benz (12 June 1884, Reichenbach im Vogtland – 9 November 1966, Heidelberg) was a historian and writer. He came to Heidelberg in 1902, where he was made honorary citizen in 1954. The historian, son of a pastor, is not related to the au ...

Martin Buber Martin Buber (; , ; ; 8 February 1878 – 13 June 1965) was an Austrian-Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism centered on the distinction between the I and Thou, I–Thou relationship and the I� ...

Hans Carossa Hans Carossa (15 December 1878 in Bad Tölz, Kingdom of Bavaria – 12 September 1956 in Rittsteig near Passau) was a German novelist and poet, known mostly for his autobiographical novels, and his inner emigration during the Nazi Germany, Nazi e ...

Richard Dehmel Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (18 November 1863 – 8 February 1920) was a German poet and writer. Life A forester's son, Richard Dehmel was born in Hermsdorf near Wendisch Buchholz (now a part of Münchehofe) in the Brandenburg Province, ...

, Herbert Eulenberg,

Oskar Loerke Oskar Loerke (13 March 1884, Wiąg, Jungen – 24 February 1941, Berlin) was a German poet, prose writer, literary critic and essayist. Loerke was a prominent figure in Expressionism and magic realism in Germany. Loerke paved the way for nature ...

, Alfons Paquet und

Stanisław Przybyszewski Stanisław Przybyszewski (; 7 May 1868 – 23 November 1927) was a Polish novelist, dramatist, and poet of the decadent naturalistic school. His drama is associated with the Symbolist movement. He wrote both in Polish and in German. Life Stani ...

, who translated portions of his work into Polish. Mombert spent his years as a writer unmarried, living very secluded, solitary life, often travelling alone. From 1939 until his death, he lived with his widowed sister Ella Gutman. He, however, was friendly with other artists and writers of the time such as: Hans Carossa, Ida, Richard Dehmel, Martin Buber,

Max Dauthendey Max Dauthendey (25 July 1867 – 29 August 1918) was a German author and painter of the impressionist period. He was born in Würzburg and died in Malang. Together with Richard Dehmel and Eduard von Keyserling, he is regarded as one of the mos ...

, Herbert Eulenberg,

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophic ...

Gustav Landauer Gustav Landauer (7 April 1870 – 2 May 1919) was a German philosopher, writer, and a leading theorist of anarchism in Germany at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. He was an advocate of social anarchism and an avowed ...

, Rudolf Pannwitz, Hans Reinhart, Emanuel Lešehrad, who translated portions of his work into Czech, Hermann Haller,

Karl Hofer Karl Christian Ludwig Hofer or ''Carl Hofer'' (11 October 1878 – 3 April 1955) was a German expressionist painter. He was director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. One of the most prominent painters of expressionism, he never was a me ...

, Arthur Zweiniger, Emil Rudolf Weiß, who made a portrait of him, and Gustav Wolf, who created images to accompany Mombert's poetry. Letters also indicate, despite great distances, Mombert maintained a love affair with a long-unknown pianist, with the alias Vasanta, who has since been identified as Charlotte Kaufmann (1880-1960). Mombert was also in regular correspondence with a singer by the name of Gertrud Full, whose repertoire included some of his poetry.

Published works

* ''Der Sonnengeist'' (1905). * ''Aeon, der Weltgesuchte'' (1907). * ''Aeon vor Syrakus'' (1911). * ''Der Himmlische Zecher'' (1909). * ''Der Held der Erde'' (1919). * ''Aeon Zwischen den Frauen'' (1920).Alfred Mombert
de.Wikisource (bibliography)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mombert, Alfred 1872 births 1942 deaths 20th-century German lawyers 20th-century German poets Writers from Karlsruhe People from the Grand Duchy of Baden Heidelberg University alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Leipzig University alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni German male poets 20th-century German male writers