Hans Carl Artmann (12 June 1921 – 4 December 2000), also known as Ib Hansen, was an Austrian poet and writer, most popular for his early poems written in

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Viennese classicism * Viennese coffee house, an eating establishment and part of Viennese ...

(''med ana schwoazzn dintn'', 1958), which however, never after were to be the focus of his oeuvre.

Life and work

Artmann was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

as the son of shoe maker Johann Artmann and his wife Marie (née Schneider). After growing up in Vienna and attending ''Volks- & Hauptschule'', he worked as an office intern for three years; in 1940, he was

conscripted Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and transferred to a punishment battalion after suffering a war wound in 1941. Having grown up trilingually, Artmann had an interest in language from an early age on; in 1947, his first publications appeared on radio and in the newspaper ''Neue Wege''. He joined the

Art-Club Art-Club was an association of artists during the postwar period in Vienna, Austria, in 1946–1959. History Art-Club was formed with the intention of fighting for the autonomy of modern art. This rather late standpoint in art history should be vie ...

in 1951, and worked with

Gerhard Rühm Gerhard Rühm (born 12 February 1930) is an Austrian author, composer and visual artist. Biography Rühm was born in Vienna. He studied the piano and music composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Following his st ...

and

Konrad Bayer Konrad Bayer (17 December 1932 – October 1964) was an Austrian writer and poet. A member of the Wiener Gruppe, he combined apparently irreconcilable elements—violence, hermeticism, pessimism, ecstasy, banality—and influences (dadaism, surre ...

from 1952 on. The same year, he also founded the so-called

Wiener Gruppe The Wiener Gruppe (''Vienna Group'') was a small and loose avant-garde constellation of Austrian poets and writers, which arose from an older and wider postwar association of artists called Art-Club. The group was formed around 1953 under the infl ...

of avantgarde poets, which he left in 1958. Starting in 1954, Artmann travelled Europe extensively; he stayed in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

from 1961 to 1965, living in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

and

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

, then went to live in

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 ...

until 1969, to settle down in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

in 1972. As Ib Hansen he had sung at DMGP 1966 with the song " Lille Veninde" placing equal 3rd with 9 points. He was a founding member of the '' Anti P.E.N.'' club in 1973; later that year, he became and stayed president of the ''

Grazer Autorenversammlung The Grazer Autorinnen Autorenversammlung (GAV) was founded under the name of ''Grazer Autorenversammlung'' in March 1973 and is one of the two major Austrian writers' association (besides the Austrian PEN). H. C. Artmann was its first president. ...

'' until leaving the organization in 1978. He earned several awards for his achievements in

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

during his lifetime, including the

Grand Austrian State Prize The Grand Austrian State Prize () is a decoration given annually by Austria to an artist for exceptional work. The recipient must be an Austrian citizen with a permanent residence in Austria. It was originally created in 1950 by then education mi ...

in 1974, the title of honorary doctor from the

University of Salzburg The University of Salzburg (, ), also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (''Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg'', PLUS), is an Austrian public university in Salzburg, Salzburg municipality, Salzburg (federal state), Salzburg State, ...

in 1991 and the Georg-Büchner Preis for literature in 1997. Artmann wrote a number of humorous stories, including parodies of ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

'', (''dracula dracula'', 1966), ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

'', (''Frankenstein in Sussex'', 1969) and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

fantasy films ("In the Gulf of Carpentaria"). Artmann was a prolific translator; he rendered

Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...

Lars Gustafsson Lars Erik Einar Gustafsson (17 May 1936 – 3 April 2016) was a Swedish poet, novelist, and scholar. Among his awards were the in 2006, the Goethe Medal in 2009, the Thomas Mann Prize in 2015, and the Nonino#Winners, International Nonino Prize i ...

Daisy Ashford Margaret Mary Julia Devlin (née Ashford; 3 April 1881 – 15 January 1972), known as Daisy Ashford, was an English writer who is most famous for writing '' The Young Visiters'', a novella concerning the upper class society of late 19th century ...

and H.P. Lovecraft into German. He also translated one volume of the

Asterix ''Asterix'' ( or , "Asterix the Gauls, Gaul"; also known as ''Asterix and Obelix'' in some adaptations or ''The Adventures of Asterix'') is a Franco-Belgian comics, French comic album book series, series about a Gaulish village which, thanks ...

series into Viennese language, '' Da Legionäa Asterix'', which was released in 1999. H. C. Artmann died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on 4 December 2000 in Vienna at the age 79. He was cremated at

Feuerhalle Simmering Feuerhalle Simmering is a crematorium with attached urn burial ground in the Simmering (Vienna), Simmering district of Vienna, Austria. It lies at the end of an alley, directly opposite Vienna Central Cemetery's main gate. Description Opened o ...

, where his ashes are also buried.

Selected works

*''Achtundachtzig: Ausgewählte Gedichte'' (1996) *''Der aeronautische Sindtbart: oder, Seltsame Luftreise von Niedercalifornien nach Crain'' (1975) *''Allerleirausch: neue schöne Kinderreime'' (1978) *''Angus''; English version by Olive Jones (1974) *''Artmann, H.C., Dichter: Ein Album mit alten Bildern und neuen Texten''; edited by Jochen Jung (1986) *''Aus meiner Botanisiertrommel: Balladen u. Naturgedichte'' (1975) *''The Best of H.C. Artmann''; edited by Klaus Reichert (1975) *''Christopher und Peregrin und was weiter geschah: Ein Bären-Roman in drei Kapiteln''; with Barbara Wehr (1975) *''Drakula, Drakula. Ein transsylvanisches Abenteuer''; with Uwe Brenner (1966) *''Die Fahrt zur Insel Nantucket; Theater'' (1969) *''Fleiss und Industrie'' (1989) *''Frankenstein in Sussex'' (1974) *''Gedichte über die Liebe und über die Lasterhaftigkeit'' (1975) *''Gedichte von der Wollust des Dichtens in Worte gefasst'' (1989) *''Gesammelte Prosa''; edited by Klaus Reichert, 4 volumes (1997) *''Gesänge der Hämmer'' (1996) *''Goethe trifft Lilo Pulver und wandert mit ihr durch den Spessart zum Schloss Mespelbrunn'' (1996) *''Grammatik der Rosen: gesammelte Prosa''; edited by Klaus Reichert, 3 volumes (1979) *''Grünverschlossene Botschaft. 90 Träume'' (1967) *''H.C. Artmann: ich bin Abenteurer und nicht Dichter: Aus Gesprächen mit Kurt Hofmann'' (2001) *''Hans-Christof Stenzel’s POEtarium'' (1991) *''Der Herr Norrrdwind: ein Opernlibretto'' (2005) *''How much, Schatzi?'' (1971) *''Ich brauch einen Wintermantel etz.: Briefe an Herbert Wochinz''; edited by Alois Brandstetter (2005) *''Im Schatten der Burenwurst: Skizzen aus Wien'' (1983) *''Die Jagd nach Dr. U.: oder, Ein einsamer Spiegel, in dem sich der Tag reflektiert'' (1977) *''Kleinere Taschenkunststücke. Fast eine Chinoiserie'' (1973) *''Eine Lektion in Poesie wird vorbereitet'' (1998) *''Ein lilienweisser Brief aus Lincolnshire: Gedichte aus 21 Jahren''; edited by Gerald Bisinger (1969) *''Nachrichten aus Nord und Süd'' (1978) *''Ompül'' (1974) *''Das Prahlen des Urwaldes im Dschungel'' (1983) *''The quest for Dr. U, or, A solitary mirror in which the day reflects''; translated by Malcolm Green & Derk Wynand (1993) *''Der Schlüssel zum Paradies: religiöse Dichtung der Kelten'' (1993) *''Die Sonne war ein grünes Ei: von der Erschaffung der Welt und ihren Dingen'' (1982) *''Das Suchen nach dem gestrigen Tag; oder, Schnee auf einem heissen Brotwecken : Eintragungen e. bizarren Liebhabers'' (1978) *''Unter der Bedeckung eines Hutes. Montagen u. Sequenzen'' (1974) *''Verbarium. Gedichte'' (1966) *''Von einem Husaren, der seine guldine Uhr in einem Teich oder Weiher verloren, sie aber nachhero nicht wiedergefunden hat'' (1990) *''Die Wanderer'' (1979) *''Was sich im Fernen abspielt: gesammelte Geschichten'' edited by Hans Haider (1995) *''Wer dichten kann ist Dichtersmann: eine Auswahl aus dem Werk''; edited by Christina Weiss and Karl Riha (1986) *''Yeti; oder, John, ich reise ...''; with Rainer Pichler and Hannes Schneider (1970) *''Der zerbrochene Krug: nach Heinrich von Kleist'' (1992)

A documentary film

Ferry Radax Ferry Radax (20 June 1932 – 9 September 2021) was an Austrian film maker born in Vienna, Austria. Career Radax was active in many genres since 1949. He studied at Vienna's Film Institute in 1953–54, followed by ''Cinecittà'', Centro Sperime ...

: ''H.C. Artmann'' (1967). A documentary film portrait of the legend made by a fellow countryman. 42 min., black and white.

Decorations and awards

* 1974: Grand Austrian State Prize for Literature * 1977: Literature Prize of the City of Vienna * 1981: Ring of Honour of the City of Salzburg * 1981: Rauriser citizens Prize for Literature * 1981, 1989 and 1991: Literature Prize of the City of Salzburg * 1983: Literature Prize of the Salzburg economy * 1984: Golden Medal of Honour of Salzburg * 1986:

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National C ...

* 1986: Manuscripts Award for the Forum Stadtpark of Styria * 1986: translator premium of the Federal Ministry of Education and Arts * 1986:

Mainzer Stadtschreiber The Mainzer Stadtschreiber (City clerk in Mainz) is an annual German literature award. It is awarded by ZDF, 3sat and the city of Mainz and was founded in 1984. The award is endowed with €12,500. Additionally the laureate receives the right to l ...

* 1987: Art Prize visual artists from Austria and Germany for a highly esteemed and admired colleague * 1989:

Franz Nabl Prize The Franz Nabl Prize is an biennial Austrian literature award. The prize was first awarded in 1975 by the city of Graz. The prize money is €14,500 (since 2019: €15,000). It is awarded as part of a jury meeting in cooperation with the at the ...

* 1991: Honorary cup of Salzburg * 1991: Honorary doctorate from the

* 1991: Literature Prize of the City of Salzburg * 1991:

Austrian Decoration for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Austria, Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science a ...

* 1992: Franz Grillparzer Prize Foundation F.V.S. Hamburg * 1994: Peace current price for dialect poetry of Kreis Neuss * 1996: Grand Decoration of Carinthia * 1996: Honorary Ring of the Vienna * 1997:

Georg Büchner Prize The Georg Büchner Prize () is the most important literary prize for German language literature. The award is named after dramatist and writer Georg Büchner, author of '' Woyzeck'' and '' Leonce and Lena''. The Georg Büchner Prize is awarded an ...

* 1997: Honorary Award of the Austrian book trade for tolerance in thought and action * 1999: Literature of the Province of Styria * 2000:

Grand Gold Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the Austrian national honours system. History The Decoration of Hono ...

Notes

External links

* For books in English chec
Atlas Press
* Se

for a most extensive list of his work (in German).
author page
at

Lyrikline.org lyrikline.org hosts contemporary international poetry as audio (read by the authors) and text (original versions and translations), plus bibliographies and biographies for each poet. lyrikline.org was started in November 1999 as a German-language ...

, with audio and text in original language, and translations into Slovenian. {{DEFAULTSORT:Artmann, Hans Carl 1921 births 2000 deaths Austrian male poets Austrian male novelists Austrian male short story writers Austrian fantasy writers Writers from Vienna Georg Büchner Prize winners Recipients of the Grand Austrian State Prize Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art Recipients of the Grand Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria 20th-century Austrian translators 20th-century Austrian novelists 20th-century Austrian poets German-language poets 20th-century Austrian short story writers 20th-century Austrian male writers Burials at Feuerhalle Simmering Austrian military personnel of World War II German Army personnel of World War II Austrian expatriates in Sweden Austrian expatriates in Germany