Henry Kreisel
Henry Kreisel was an Austrian-born writer and academic, notable for his contributions to Canadian literature and his exploration of themes related to exile and identity. Born in Vienna on June 5, 1922, Kreisel fled to England in 1938 following the Nazi invasion, where he faced internment in Canada due to his nationality. His experiences, including the traumatic separation from his mother, deeply influenced his literary work and personal development. Kreisel chose to write in English, inspired by Joseph Conrad's own linguistic journey, and pursued higher education at the University of Toronto, eventually earning a Ph.D. with a dissertation focused on exile and alienation in modern literature.
Kreisel taught at the University of Alberta for several decades, becoming a prominent figure in Canadian academia and literature. His novels, "The Rich Man" and "The Betrayal," reflect the struggles for freedom faced by their protagonists, while his short stories examine the impact of his past and the rejection of his childhood language. Beyond his writing, Kreisel played a crucial role in establishing Canadian literature as a field of study, promoting local authors and fostering a greater appreciation for the country's literary heritage. His legacy is characterized by his commitment to understanding and conveying the complexities of the human experience in the context of historical trauma.
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Henry Kreisel
Writer
- Born: June 5, 1922
- Birthplace: Vienna, Austria
- Died: April 22, 1991
- Place of death: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Biography
Henry Kreisel was born in Vienna, Austria, on June 5, 1922. He left Vienna and moved to England in 1938, after the Nazi invasion. In England, he worked in a clothing factory until 1940, when he was interned, with his father, and sent to Canada, along with other German and Austrian nationals. Kreisel’s mother was sent to the Ravensbrook concentration camp and then sent to England; she could not get permission to enter Canada, so Kreisel was separated from his mother, which affected him deeply. While in the internment camp he read dozens of books and decided to become a writer, but he wanted to free himself from his linguistic and psychological dependence on German. Kreisel decided to write in English, but he was intimidated by the enormity of the task until he heard of Joseph Conrad, who learned to write in English, instead of his native Polish.
Upon his release from the camp in 1942, Kreisel completed his education and entered the University of Toronto’s honors program in English language and literature. He received his B.A. after four years, winning eleven major scholarships. Kreisel was a Reuben Wells Leonard Fellow at the University of Toronto from 1946 through 1947, and completed his M.A. in the spring of 1947. He began his teaching career that fall at the University of Alberta, teaching there until 1952, when he received a fellowship from the Royal Society of Canada to attend the University of London. Kreisel completed his Ph.D. in 1954 with his dissertation The Problem of Exile and Alienation in Modern Literature. He resumed his teaching career at the University of Alberta, where he later became chair of English and vice president of academic affairs. He was named a professor in 1975, and remained highly honored and very popular until his retirement in 1987. In 1947, Kreisel married the former Esther Lazerson of Toronto and they had one son.
Kreisel’s two novels, The Rich Man, published in 1948, and The Betrayal, published in 1964, both describe their respective protagonists’ failed quests for freedom. Kreisel’s intent is to give Canadians an outsider’s reality of the European Holocaust experience. To achieve this, Kreisel confines the authorial presence to the consciousness of the outsider, forcing the reader to identify with the painful reality of the Holocaust. Kreisel’s short stories delve into the self-questioning that resulted from his deliberate rejection of his childhood language and the traumatic separation from his mother. Kreisel explored this theme in his 1956 radio play, He Who Sells His Shadow, based on the parable of Faust. The link to Kreisel’s own life is obvious as he is the one who lost his “shadow,” or his identity, when the hatred and danger of Nazi Germany forced him from his motherland, and again when suspicion and ruthlessness branded him an “enemy alien” in London and he was interned in the camp in Canada.
Kreisel’s literary contribution was his appreciation of Canadian literature as a separate and unique category of its own. Before Kreisel, there was not much of a focus on Canadian literature, but he changed that by reading deeply and creating an interest in the country’s history, literature, and authors. Kreisel may not have been a prolific author or award winner during his career, but he was instrumental in the introduction of Canadian literature courses at the University of Alberta, and he encouraged other writers. In that way, and by example, he taught writers in Canada to believe in themselves and their literature.