Carl Weissner (19 June 1940,

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 ...

– 24 January 2012,

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

) was a German writer and translator.

Biography

Weissner studied English language and literature in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

and

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 ...

. From 1965 to 1967 he published a literary magazine in

, ''Klactoveedsedsteen''. From 1970 to 1971 he published the magazine ''UFO'' with Jörg Fauser, Jürgen Ploog, and Udo Breger and starting in 1972 the literary magazine '' Gasolin 23'' with Fauser and graphic artists Walter Hartmann and Ploog. In 1966 he left for New York City, where he spent two years on a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

and developed close relationships with members of the

Beat Generation The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-World War II era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by members o ...

, learning cut-up technique. He published a collaboration with

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major Postmodern literature, postmodern author who influen ...

and Claude Pélieu, ''So Who Owns Death TV'', in Mary Beach's ''Beach Books Texts & Documents''. He also published two texts with Jan Herman's ''Nova Broadcast Press''. Weissner's translations included

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

's ''A'' and J. G. Ballard's ''Liebe + Napalm = Export USA'', for Udo Breger's ''Expanded Media Editions'', works by Mary Beach, Claude Pelieu, Charles Plymell and

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

, and

Harold Norse Harold Norse (July 6, 1916, New York City – June 8, 2009, San Francisco) was an American writer who created a body of work using the American idiom of everyday language and images. One of the expatriate artists of the Beat generation, Norse w ...

s ''Beat Hotel''. He achieved recognition by translating William S. Burroughs,

Nelson Algren Nelson Algren (born Nelson Ahlgren Abraham; March 28, 1909 – May 9, 1981) was an American writer. His 1949 novel '' The Man with the Golden Arm'' won the National Book Award and was adapted as the 1955 film of the same name. Algren articulate ...

, and

Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German Americans, German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambien ...

. Weissner and Bukowski were friends, and he helped establish Bukowski's reputation in Germany; years later he read from Bukowski's letters to German audiences. He also translated songs by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

and

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

. Weissner's archives are held in the in

Marbach am Neckar Marbach am Neckar (, ) is a town about 20 kilometres north of Stuttgart. It belongs to the district of Ludwigsburg, the Stuttgart region and the European metropolitan region of Stuttgart. Marbach is known as the birthplace of Friedrich Schiller ...

, with selections on display in the permanent exhibition of the Literaturmuseum der Moderne, also in Marbach.

Books

* ''So Who Owns Death TV'', Beach Books ''Texts & Documents'', San Francisco 1967 (with William S. Burroughs and Claude Pelieu). Published in German as ''Fernseh-Tuberkulose'', Nova Press, Frankfurt am Main 1969 * ''The Braille Film'', Nova Broadcast Press, San Francisco 1970 (with contributions by W. S. Burroughs) * ''The Louis Project'', The Nova Broadcast Press, San Francisco, 1970 (with Jan Herman) * ''Cut Up or Shut Up'', Agentzia, Paris, 1972 (with Jan Herman and Jürgen Ploog, "ticker tape" introduction by W. S. Burroughs). * ''Burroughs'', Berlin 1994 (with Michael Köhler) * ''Death in Paris''. Online document, dated 7 December 2007, ''Reality Studio'' blog. * ''Manhattan Muffdiver'', Milena, Vienna 2010 * ''Die Abenteuer von Trashman'', Milena, Vienna 2011 (with an afterword by Thomas Ballhausen) * ''Eine andere Liga'', Milena, Vienna 2013 (ed. Matthias Penzel and Vanessa Wieser)

Translations

* Mary Beach: ''Die elektrische Banane.'' In: Renate Matthaei (ed.): '' März Texte 1 & Trivialmythen''. Area, Erftstadt 2004 , pp. 32–43. * William S. Burroughs: ''Die Zukunft des Romans. Rede auf der Writers’ Conference

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

1964.'' Aus dem Amerik. Ibid., pp. 147–149. * James Graham Ballard: ''Liebe & Napalm.'' Joseph Melzer, 1970. Original 1969. ** Reissued as ''Liebe und Napalm. The Atrocity Exhibition''. Milena, Vienna 2008. Foreword by Thomas Ballhausen and Thomas Edlinger. . ** Selection: ''Liebe & Napalm = Export USA.'' In: ''Klacto/23'', Heidelberg 1967. Republished in: ''März Texte 1'', März, Frankfurt 1969. Repr. in: ''März-Texte 1 und Trivialmythen''. Area, Erftstadt 2004 , S. 68–71. * with Walter Hartmann: ''Songtexte 1962–1985. Bob Dylan''. Zweitausendundeins, Frankfurt am Main 1975.

Radio plays

* ''Der nackte Astronaut''. With Christian Brückner, Günther Hoffmann, Matthias Ponnier, Margot Leonard u. a. Westdeutscher Rundfunk, 1972. * ''Deadline USA. Eine Dokumentar-Show aus dem Underground-Museum der (19)60er Jahre''. With William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Janis Joplin, The Fugs, Jim Lowell, Harold Norse and many others. Co-production of Hessischer Rundfunk (HR) Frankfurt and Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) Cologne. First broadcast: 8 November 1973. Directed by Hermann Naber. * ''Die von der Reservebank oder Wenn wir drankommen, ist das Spiel hoffentlich verloren'' (director) by Broder Boyksen und Jörg Fauser; Saarländischer Rundfunk, 1974.

References

External links