Michael Peter Leopold Hamburger (22 March 1924 – 7 June 2007) was a noted German-British translator, poet,

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

, memoirist and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. He was known in particular for his translations of

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

Paul Celan Paul Celan (; ; born Paul Antschel; 23 November 1920 – c. 20 April 1970) was a German-speaking Romanian poet, Holocaust survivor, and literary translation, literary translator. He adopted his pen name (an anagram of the Romanian spelling Ancel ...

, Gottfried Benn and W. G. Sebald from German, and his work in

literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...

. The publisher Paul Hamlyn (1926–2001) was his younger brother.

Life and work

Michael Hamburger was born 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 ...

into a

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish family that left for the UK in 1933, and settled in London. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

and served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

from 1943 to 1947 in Italy and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. After that he completed his degree, and wrote for a time. In 1951 he married Anne Beresford. Hamburger took a position at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

in 1951, and then at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

in 1955. There followed many further academic positions in the UK and the US. He held temporary appointments in German at

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

(1966–7), the

University of Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

(1969),

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

(1970),

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

(1971), the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

(1972), the University of California at San Diego (1973), the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

(1973), and

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

(1975 and 1977). He resettled permanently in England in 1978, the year he became a part-time professor at the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

. Hamburger published translations of many of the most important

German-language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is a ...

writers, particularly poets. His work was recognised with numerous awards, including the Aristeion Prize in 1990, and he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1992. Hamburger lived in Middleton, Suffolk, and appeared as a character in W. G. Sebald's ''

The Rings of Saturn ''The Rings of Saturn'' ( - An English Pilgrimage) is a 1995 novel by the German writer W. G. Sebald. Its first-person narrative arc is the account by a nameless narrator (who resembles the author in typical Sebaldian fashion) on a walking tour ...

''. A few months before his death he was visited by the artist Tacita Dean, whose poignant fil
Michael Hamburger
focuses on the man and his home and the bonding of the man and his apple orchard. Representative works included ''The Truth of Poetry'' (1968), a major work of criticism. His ''Collected Poems, 1941–1994'' (1995) drew on around twenty collections. Hamburger himself commented unhappily on the habit that reviewers have of greeting publication of his own poetry with a ritualised "Michael Hamburger, better known as a translator...". Perhaps ironically, his original poetry is better known in its German translations, by the Austrian poet and translator Peter Waterhouse. He often commented on the literary life: the first edition of his autobiography came out with the title ''A Mug's Game'', a quotation from

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

, whom Hamburger greatly admired, and to whose sixtieth-birthday biblio-

symposium In Ancient Greece, the symposium (, ''sympósion'', from συμπίνειν, ''sympínein'', 'to drink together') was the part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, o ...

he contributed an

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

ous poem of four

stanzas In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...

Hamburger 1948, p. 178. which tells its own story. Michael Hamburger was honoured with the Johann-Heinrich-Voß-Preis für Übersetzung in 1964 and with the Petrarca-Preis in 1992. He died on 7 June 2007 at his home in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

References

* , his autobiography, edited by Lucien Jenkins *

Selected bibliography

Translations

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...

, Twenty Prose Poems'' (translator), London, Poetry London, 1946 (revised ed. San Francisco, City Light Books 1988) *''Flowering Cactus: poems 1942–1949'', Aldington, Hand and Flower Press, 1950 – out of print *''Poems of Hölderlin'' (translator), Poetry London 1943, (revised ed. as ''Holderlin: His Poems'', Harvill Press, 1952) – out of print *''

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, Letters, Journals and Conversations.'' London, Thames & Hudson, 1951 – out of print. *'' Trakl, Decline'' (translator), St. Ives, Guido Morris/ Latin Press, 1952 – out of print *''A. Goes, The Burnt Offering'' (translator), London, Gollancz, 1956 – out of print *''

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

, Tales from the Calendar'' (translator), London, Methuen, 1961 (reissued London, Lion & Unicorn Press 1980) – out of print *''

Hugo von Hofmannsthal Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal (; 1 February 1874 – 15 July 1929) was an Austrian novelist, libretto, librettist, Poetry, poet, Playwdramatist, narrator, and essayist. Early life Hofmannsthal was born in Landstraße, Vienna, th ...

, Poems and Verse Plays'' (translator with others), Routledge & K. Paul, and New York,

Bollingen Foundation The Bollingen Foundation was an educational foundation set up along the lines of a university press in 1945. It was named after Bollingen Tower, Carl Jung's country home in Bollingen, Switzerland. Funding was provided by Paul Mellon and his ...

, 1961 – out of print *''Modern German Poetry 1910–1960'' (translator with C Middleton), Routledge, and New York, McGibbon & Kee, 1962 – out of print *''J C F Hölderlin, Selected Verse'' (translator), Harmondsworth, Middlesex, Penguin, 1961 (latest ed. London, Anvil, 1986) *''

Nelly Sachs Nelly Sachs (; 10 December 1891 – 12 May 1970) was a German–Swedish poet and playwright. Her experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazism, Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokesperson for the grief and yearn ...

, Selected Poems'' (translator), Jonathan Cape and New York, Farrar Straus and Giroux, 1968 – out of print *''

Hans Magnus Enzensberger Hans Magnus Enzensberger (11 November 1929 – 24 November 2022) was a German author, poet, translator, and editor. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Andreas Thalmayr, Elisabeth Ambras, Linda Quilt and Giorgio Pellizzi. Enzensberger was regarde ...

, The Poems of Hans Magnus Enzensberger'' (translator with J Rothenberg and the author), London, Secker & Warburg, 1968 – out of print *''H M Enzensberger, Poems for People Who Don't Read Poems'' (translator), Secker & Warburg, 1968 – out of print *''An Unofficial Rilke'' (translator), London, Anvil Press, 1981 – out of print *''

, Poems'' (translator), Manchester, Carcanet, 1972 (new enlarged ed. as ''Poems of Paul Celan'', New York, Persea, 1988 and 2002, and Anvil Press, 2007) *''

, Selected poems and Fragments'' (translator), Penguin Classics, 1998 (new ed. 2007) * W. G. Sebald, ''After Nature'' (translator), London, Hamish Hamilton, 2002 *W. G. Sebald, ''Unrecounted'' (translator), Hamish Hamilton, 2004

Prose

*''Reason and Energy'', London, Routledge & K. Paul, 1957 – out of print *''From Prophecy to Exorcism: the Premisses of Modern German Literature'', Longmans, 1965 – out of print *''The Truth of Poetry'', London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, First published in 1969, (latest ed. Anvil, 1996) *''Testimonies'', Selected Shorter Prose 1950–1987, New York, St Martin's Press, 1989 *''A Mug's Game'' (memoir), Carcanet, 1973, (revised ed. as ''String of Beginnings'') – out of print *''String of Beginnings'' (memoir), Skoob Seriph, 1991 *''Philip Larkin: A Retrospect'', London, Enitharmon Press, 2002 — edition limited to 90 copies plus 20 ''hors commerce''

Poetry

* ''Flowering Cactus. Poems 1942–1949''. Hand & Flower Press, Aldington 1950 * ''Poems 1950–1951''. Hand & Flower Press, Aldington 1952 * ''The Dual Site. Poems''. Routledge & Kegan Paul; London 1958 * ''Weather and Season. New Poems''. Longmans, London 1963; Atheneum, New York 1963 * ''Feeding the Chickadees''. Turret Books, London 1968 * ''Penguin Modern Poets. No. 14''. Penguin Books, Harmondsworth 1969 (with Alan Brownjohn and Charles Tomlinson) * ''Travelling''. Fulcrum Press, London 1969, * ''Travelling I–V''. Agenda Editions, London 1973, * ''Ownerless Earth. New & Selected poems''. Carcanet Press, Cheadle, Cheshire 1973, , * ''Travelling VI''. I.M. Imprimit, London 1975 * ''Real Estate''. Carcanet, Manchester 1977, , * ''Moralities''. Morden Tower Publications, Newcastle-upon-Tyne 1977, * ''Variations in Suffolk, IV''. Sceptre Press, Knotting 1980 * ''Variations''. Carcanet New Press, Manchester 1981, * ''In Suffolk''. Five Seasons Press, Hereford 1982 * ''Collected Poems. 1941–1983''. Carcanet Press, Manchester 1984, * ''Trees''. Embers Handpress, Llangynog 1988, * ''Selected Poems''. Carcanet, Manchester 1988, * ''Roots in the Air''. Anvil Press Poetry, London 1991, * ''Collected Poems. 1941–1994''. Anvil Press Poetry, London 1995, * ''Late''. Anvil Press Poetry, London 1997, * ''Intersections. Shorter Poems 1994–2000''. Anvil Press Poetry, London 2000, * ''From a Diary of Non-Events''. Anvil Press Poetry, London 2002, * ''Wild and Wounded. Shorter Poems 2000–2003''. Anvil Press Poetry, London 2004, * ''Circling the Square''. Anvil Press Poetry, London 2006,

Other

* Hamburger, Michael. "T. S. Eliot." In ''T. S. Eliot: A Symposium'', edited by Richard March and Tambimuttu, 178. London: Editions Poetry, 1948.

Notes

References

* Theo Breuer, Still He is Turning – Michael Hamburger; in: T.B., Aus dem Hinterland. Lyrik nach 2000, Edition YE 2005.

External links

Obituary in The IndependentObituary from the Times newspaper
''Poet, translator and academic, more acclaimed in Germany than in Britain''
Michael Hamburger at the Poetry ArchiveRemembering Poet and Translator Michael Hamburger
an appreciation by Joshua Cohen at ''The Jewish Daily Forward'' published 19 June 2007

interview with Michael Hamburger, conducted by Lidia Vianu, Published in ''The European English Messenger'', Spring 2006 (pp. 35–37)

poet Mark Scroggins's appreciation for the work of Michael Hamburger
Unpicked Apples – Memories of Michael Hamburger by Will Stone
published 10 March 2010 * Archival material at {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamburger, Michael 1924 births 2007 deaths Academics of University College London Academics of the University of Reading Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II Jewish English writers German–English translators Jewish poets Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Westminster School, London Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin 20th-century British translators English male poets 20th-century English poets German emigrants to the United Kingdom Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Writers from London 20th-century English male writers