Helmut Heissenbüttel
Helmut Heissenbüttel (1921-1996) was a notable German writer and influential figure in the avant-garde literary scene. Born in Rustringen, Germany, he faced significant challenges during World War II, including a severe injury that led to the amputation of his left arm. After the war, Heissenbüttel pursued higher education in German literature, Art History, and English at universities in Leipzig and Hamburg. He was a member of Gruppe 47, a collective of writers, and contributed to the literary landscape through his role as a reader at Claassen publishing house and later as a producer for the South German Radio Service.
Heissenbüttel’s literary style evolved from classical poetry to an experimental approach that dismissed traditional notions of genre, focusing instead on fragmented texts and collages. He engaged with the works of influential figures like Goethe, Freud, and Hegel, arguing that context was essential for meaning. His contributions to literature earned him numerous accolades, including the Georg Büchner Prize and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Heissenbüttel's legacy continues to resonate as he remains a significant figure in discussions around modern German literature and avant-garde writing.
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Helmut Heissenbüttel
Writer
- Born: June 21, 1921
- Birthplace: Ruestringen, Germany
- Died: September 19, 1996
Biography
Helmut Heissenbüttel was born in Rustringen, Germany, in 1921. He was the son of Hans and Klara Heisenbüttel. Prior to World War II, he studied at the Technical College in Dresden, Germany. In 1941, Heissenbüttel was wounded in a conflict in the Soviet Union during World War II, and as a result, his left arm was amputated. Following the war, he studied German literature, Art History, and English at the Universities of Leipzig and Hamburg. In 1954, he married Ida Warnholz, and they had four children. He became a member of an informal collection of German writers called Gruppe 47 in 1955. Between 1955 and 1957, he was a reader at the Claassen publishing house in Hamburg. Later in 1957, he joined the South German Radio Service, where he produced a program for the station until his retirement in 1981.
Heissenbüttel received many awards for his writing. In 1956, he received a scholarship from the Lessing Prize, awarded by the city of Hamburg. Other awards include the Hugo Jaocbi Prize (1960), the Cultural Award of the State of Lower Saxony (1962), the Georg Buchner Prize (1969), the Prize of the Blind War Veterans (1971), the International Wine Prize (1978), and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1979). He was the director of the literary section of the Academy of Arts in West Berlin, and was a member of PEN, the Academy for Literature and Science, and the German Academy for Language and Literature.
Heissenbüttel has been described as one of the most influential German avant-garde writers. His early works, written in the 1950’s, reflect a more classical approach to poetry. However, his work also showed an increasing rejection of poetic romanticism, punctuation, and grammar. He considered his writing as experimental, and was often compared to poets such as Gertrude Stein and poets of the Dadaist movement. Heisenbüttel rejected attempts to classify his literature. He described his works as texts because he did not accept the distinctions of literature genre such as poetry, fiction, or drama. Since 1970, he referred to his major works as projects. These projects were published in 1970 and 1974, and are collages of quotations of works by dramatist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, psychologistSigmund Freud, and philosopher Georg Hegel, among others. Heissenbüttel contended that without the proper context, the quotations were simply language, and, as such, did not have meaning. Heissenbüttel died in 1996 after suffering from a long illness.