Peter Altenberg
Peter Altenberg, born Richard Engländer on March 9, 1859, in Vienna, Austria, was a notable figure in the literary culture of early 20th-century Vienna. He initially struggled to find his path, attempting various careers in law, medicine, and bookselling, until he embraced the Bohemian lifestyle that defined his identity as a writer. Altenberg became well-known in the café scene and gained prominence with the publication of his work "Wie ich es sehe" in 1896, which showcased the lives of Austrians and marked his entry into the literary world.
His writing, characterized by prose poems and vivid sketches, often reflected his personal experiences and conveyed a sensual, ironic perspective of Vienna. Despite his literary success and friendships with prominent figures like Robert Musil and Franz Kafka, Altenberg faced significant financial challenges, leading to public appeals for support. His later works revealed a preoccupation with mortality, particularly during World War I, while maintaining his signature wit and satire.
Altenberg struggled with alcoholism throughout his life and faced numerous health issues, ultimately passing away on January 8, 1919, in Vienna. Although he was nominated for a Nobel Prize in literature in 1914, he did not receive any major awards; however, his influence on writers and movements, including pop art, is undeniable, marking him as a significant yet complex figure within the impressionist movement of his time.
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Peter Altenberg
Writer
- Born: March 9, 1859
- Birthplace: Vienna, Austria
- Died: January 8, 1919
- Place of death: Vienna, Austria
Biography
Peter Altenberg was born as Richard Engländer on March 9, 1859, in Vienna, Austria, to Pauline (Schweinburg) and businessman Moriz Engländer. Altenberg graduated from Akademisches Gymnasium in 1878. As a young man, he tried and failed at a number of professions, including law, medicine, and even a position as an apprentice bookseller. It wasn’t until he encountered the Bohemian environment of turn-of-the- century Vienna that he found his identity, his new name, and an appropriate atmosphere for his creativity.
Altenberg began by establishing himself as a familiar figure in the café scene. In 1896, when Wie ich es sehe (as I see it) which features a look at the lives of various Austrians was published, it was received as a notable addition to the literature of the day. Altenberg also carefully sought out some of the most important literary figures of the time, including Robert Musil, Karl Kraus, Gerhart Hauptmann, Arthur Schnitzler, and Franz Kafka. Kraus and Schnitzler were especially helpful in helping him secure S. Fischer as a publisher for his work. Altenberg also relied on these influential friends to help him through difficult financial times, especially since he worked so hard to be outrageous in his Bohemian lifestyle that he often found himself without money or decent lodgings. Kraus and Schnitzler even sponsored public appeals in Austrian newspapers asking for financial support when Altenberg faced bankruptcy.
Such public appeals were successful because of the popularity of Altenberg’s work. His prose poems and sketches of Vienna were visual, sensual and delightfully ironic. Later in his career, Altenberg’s work became more autobiographical, but the honest reflections of his experiences and his philosophy of the world in which he lived continued to resonate with his readers and the literary elite. As World War I continued and Altenberg neared the end of his career and his life, a greater obsession with mortality became evident in his work. Numerous examples of death images, now seen as prophetic, threatened to turn his poetry into simple complaining, but Altenberg retained his wit and his ability to use satire to his advantage.
Altenberg’s love of his Bohemian lifestyle eventually took its toll. He struggled with alcoholism his entire life, and his frequent internments at asylums further weakened his health. Altenberg died on January 8, 1919, in Vienna, Austria, at the age of fifty-nine. Altenberg’s work can be seen as representative of the impressionist movement that flourished in Vienna at the turn of the century, but it is difficult to place him in a single category because his poetic style is so unusual and because his love of short sketches and observational fragment narratives goes beyond the conventions literary styles of the time. Altenberg was nominated for a Nobel Prize in literature in 1914, but his work did not receive this or any other literary prize. His writings did, however, influence numerous important writers, from Thomas Mann to Rainer Maria Rilke and Franz Kafka, and a strong connection can be made between his use of word clusters and the pop art movement of the 1960’s.