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Uwe Johnson

ウーヴェ・ヨンソン

Uwe Johnson

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1934-07-20 （Kamień Pomorski, Province of Pomerania, Free State of Prussia, German Reich）
Died
1984-02-22 （Sheerness, Kent, England, United Kingdom） age 49
Nationality
German
Languages
German
Residence History
Kamień Pomorski (now Poland) → Anklam → Güstrow → Rostock (studies) → Leipzig (studies) → West Berlin → New York City (residence/work) → Sheerness (England, later life)

Career

Occupations
novelist, short story writer, translator, editor, scholar
Active Years
1953-1984
Affiliations
Group 47, International PEN (German center), Academy of the Arts (Akademie der Künste), Darmstadt Academy for Language and Literature (admitted, later informally withdrew)
Memberships
International PEN, Academy of the Arts (Akademie der Künste)
Influenced By
Bertolt Brecht, Modernist writers (20th-century modernism), Ernst Barlach (subject of thesis)
Influenced
Post-war German writers, German critics and scholars

Education

University of Rostock
German philology / Philology (German)
Degree: Diplom?
Period: 1952–1954
Country: Germany
Suspended for political reasons during studies but later reinstated; final degree details uncertain.
University of Leipzig
German philology / Philology (German)
Degree: Diplom?
Period: 1954–1956
Country: Germany
Graduation year uncertain. Final thesis on Ernst Barlach.

Awards

Fontane Prize
1960
Organization: West Berlin
Result: 受賞
Prix International (Formentor)
1962
Organization: Formentor Group
Result: 受賞
Georg Büchner Prize
1971
Organization: Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung
Result: 受賞
Wilhelm Raabe Prize
1975
Organization: Braunschweig (Wilhelm Raabe Prize)
Result: 受賞
Thomas Mann Prize
1978
Organization: Lübeck
Result: 受賞
Literature Prize of the City of Cologne
1983
Organization: City of Cologne
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Mutmaßungen über Jakob (Speculations About Jakob)

1959 Novel

An experimental novel set against the background of East and West Germany in the 1950s, interweaving political and personal memories and fragments of testimony.

division and reunificationmemorypolitical repression
Translations
  • Translated by Ursule Molinaro as 'Speculations About Jakob' (English, 1963)

Das dritte Buch über Achim (The Third Book About Achim)

1961 Novel

An early novel demonstrating Johnson's style of intertwining individual interiority with social conditions.

individual and societymemory
Translations
  • English translations/partial translations available

Jahrestage. Aus dem Leben von Gesine Cresspahl (Anniversaries: From a Year in the Life of Gesine Cresspahl)

1970 Multi-volume long novel/series

A major multi-volume work that interweaves the life of Gesine Cresspahl with German history and memory; published intermittently between 1970 and 1983.

history and personal memorydivision of Germany and its aftermath
Translations
  • Translated by Damion Searls as 'Anniversaries: From a Year in the Life of Gesine Cresspahl' (English, 2018)

Bibliography

  • Mutmaßungen über Jakob (1959)
  • Das dritte Buch über Achim (1961)
  • Karsch, und andere Prosa (1964)
  • Zwei Ansichten (1965)
  • Jahrestage (1970–1983)
  • Eine Reise nach Klagenfurt (1974)
  • Berliner Sachen, Aufsätze (1975)
  • Skizze eines Verunglückten (1982)
  • Begleitumstände. Frankfurter Vorlesungen (1980)

Translations by Author

  • Translation of Herman Melville's 'Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile' (German translation, 1961)
  • Translation of the Middle High German 'Nibelungenlied' into modern German (1961)
  • Translation of John Knowles' 'A Separate Peace' into German (published 1963)

Translations of Works

  • Mutmaßungen über Jakob → English translation 'Speculations About Jakob' (Ursule Molinaro, 1963)
  • Jahrestage → English translation 'Anniversaries' (Damion Searls, 2018)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
modernist experimentation (fragmentary, polyphonic narration)a form of realism critical of society and history
Recurring Motifs
memory and forgettingdivision of Germany, displacement and exileeveryday life and bureaucracycoast/sea imagery (Sheerness period)

Health

  • hypertensive heart disease
    1983–1984
    Health decline disrupted his writing and public appearances; he died of hypertensive heart disease in 1984.

Legacy

Uwe Johnson is an important 20th-century German writer who explored the realities and memories of East and West Germany. His major work 'Jahrestage' is highly regarded as an attempt to link post-war German history and personal memory. He is also respected as a translator and editor and received several major literary awards.

Museums

  • Uwe Johnson archive/museum (associated with Uwe-Johnson-Gesellschaft) Germany (library/archive holdings and research institutions)

Academic Societies

  • Uwe-Johnson-Gesellschaft
  • Darmstadt Academy for Language and Literature (membership history)

Archives

  • Uwe-Johnson-Archiv (archival holdings related to the Uwe-Johnson-Gesellschaft)

In Popular Culture

  • His decade in Sheerness and coastal life have been subjects of cultural-historical studies and criticism (e.g., Patrick Wright's monograph).

Quotes

  • "the author of the two Germanies"
    Source: Critical description by commentators

Trivia

  • Fled with his family in 1945 to Anklam.
  • In the 1950s he was regarded as a dissident by East German authorities and had employment difficulties.
  • His body was discovered on 13 March 1984 though date of death was 22 February 1984.
  • Married Elisabeth Schmidt in 1962; later personal controversies concerning his wife's relationships were noted.
  • Spent his late years in Sheerness, England, writing and editing from a seaside house.