Kleist Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 20 (1931) Winner
Ödön von Horváth
オードン・フォン・ホルヴァート
Odon von Horvath
Aliases:
Edmund Josef von Horváth / Edmund Horváth
Pen Names:
Ödön von Horváth（Nom de plume used as an author (birth name Edmund Josef von Horváth)）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1901-12-09 （Sušak, Rijeka, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Croatia)）
- Died
- 1938-06-01 （Paris, France） age 36
- Nationality
- Austro-Hungarian, Hungarian (passport), Associated with Austria
- Languages
- German, Hungarian
- Residence History
- Budapest (early childhood) → Munich (family residence; university) → Pressburg (schooling) → Vienna (schooling; later residence) → Murnau am Staffelsee (family home) → Berlin (lived in the 1920s) → Salzburg (period of residence) → Vienna (from 1933) → Paris (exile in 1938)
Career
- Occupations
- playwright, novelist
- Active Years
- 1920-1938
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rákóczianum | — | — | — | 1910年代（初等・中等教育期） | Hungary |
| Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich | — | — | — | 1919–1922（中退） | Germany |
Rákóczianum
Period:
1910年代（初等・中等教育期）
Country:
Hungary
One of the schools where he received education in Hungarian
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Period:
1919–1922（中退）
Country:
Germany
Left university without a degree in 1922 and began writing
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | Kleist Prize | Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald (Tales from the Vienna Woods) | — | Kleist Prize committee | 受賞 |
Kleist Prize
1931
Work:
Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald (Tales from the Vienna Woods)
Organization:
Kleist Prize committee
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald (Tales from the Vienna Woods)
1931 playA satirical play exposing the vanity and foolishness of bourgeois society, dealing with themes of hypocrisy and emptiness.
satire of bourgeois societyhypocrisyexistential emptiness
Translations
- Tales from the Vienna Woods
Jugend ohne Gott (Youth Without God)
1937 novelDepicts youth under the Nazi regime, exploring propaganda and the erosion of humanity from the perspective of a teacher questioning morality and conscience.
critique of Nazismmoralityeducation
Translations
- Youth Without God
Ein Kind unserer Zeit (A Child of Our Time)
1938 novelA novel dealing with the violence of the era and the fate of individuals, portraying how social circumstances affect personal lives.
violence of the eraindividual and societyhistorical warning
Adaptations
- [music (oratorio)] A Child of Our Time (oratorio by Michael Tippett) (1941)
Translations
- A Child of Our Time
Der ewige Spießer (The Eternal Philistine)
1930 novelA satirical novel sharply portraying philistine values and their limits.
petty-bourgeois valuessatire
Translations
- The Eternal Philistine
Kasimir und Karoline (Kasimir and Karoline)
1932 playA play about love and social tensions, depicting economic insecurity and personal breakdown.
love and breakdowneconomic insecurity
Translations
- Kasimir and Karoline
Don Juan Comes Back From The War
1936 playA drama addressing the psychological effects of war and the individual's attempt at renewal.
impact of wartrauma
Adaptations
- [theatre (adaptation)] Modern-language stage adaptation / Andrea Ferran (翻案上演・2012) (2012)
Translations
- Don Juan Comes Back From The War
Bibliography
- Das Buch der Tänze (1920)
- Mord in der Mohrengasse (1923)
- Zur schönen Aussicht (1926)
- Revolte auf Côte 3018 (1927)
- Sladek (1929)
- Sechsunddreißig Stunden (1929)
- Der ewige Spießer (1930)
- Italienische Nacht (1930)
- Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald (1931)
- Glaube, Liebe, Hoffnung (1932)
- Kasimir und Karoline (1932)
- Jugend ohne Gott (1937)
- Ein Kind unserer Zeit (1938)
Adaptations
- Michael Tippett's oratorio 'A Child of Our Time' (1939–1941) (title taken from Horváth's novel)
- Operatic adaptations by Giselher Klebe (e.g., Figaro gets a Divorce, Judgement Day) in the 1960s–1980s
- Multiple stage and film adaptations
Translations of Works
- Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald — English: Tales from the Vienna Woods
- Jugend ohne Gott — English: Youth Without God
- Ein Kind unserer Zeit — English: A Child of Our Time
- Der ewige Spießer — English: The Eternal Philistine
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- clear and concise prosesatirical and ironic toneblend of realism and symbolic depiction
- Recurring Motifs
- petty-bourgeois emptinesspolitical decay and warnings about fascismalienation in urban life
Legacy
Horváth is regarded as a major playwright and novelist of the early 20th century, noted for warnings about fascism and sharp critiques of bourgeois society. His interwar portrayals of social and political issues have continued to influence theatre and literature.
Archives
- Reinterred at Heiligenstädter Friedhof (Vienna) in 1988
- Originally buried at Saint-Ouen Cemetery (Paris)
In Popular Culture
- Christopher Hampton's play 'Tales from Hollywood' portrays a fictionalized Horváth
- Authors such as Danilo Kiš and Lydia Davis have fictionalized or referenced Horváth in their works
Quotes
-
"Nothing conveys the feeling of infinity as much as stupidity does." (motto of Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald)
Source: Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald (1931) -
"Actually what I'm really like is very different. I just so rarely find time for it." (From Zur schönen Aussicht)
Source: Zur schönen Aussicht (1926) -
"If you ask me what is my native country, I answer: I was born in Fiume, grew up in Belgrade, Budapest, Pressburg (Bratislava), Vienna and Munich, and I have a Hungarian passport, but I have no fatherland. I am a very typical mix of old Austria-Hungary."
Source: Interview / essay
Trivia
- While walking in the Bavarian Alps he found a skeleton with a postcard reading 'Having a wonderful time' and is said to have mailed it.
- Died in June 1938 after being struck by a falling tree branch on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
- Originally buried in Paris; remains were transferred to Vienna (Heiligenstädter Friedhof) in 1988.