Klabund
Klabund, the pseudonym of Alfred Henschke, was a prominent German writer during the Weimar Republic in the 1920s, known for his unique expressionistic style. Born in 1890 in what is now Poland, he faced lifelong health challenges due to tuberculosis, which deeply influenced his literary work. Klabund's early life was marked by personal tragedy, including the death of his first wife and infant daughter from the same disease. Initially supportive of World War I, he later adopted a pacifist stance, resulting in his imprisonment for revolutionary activities in 1919.
After the war, Klabund gained popularity through his satirical cabaret songs and published several notable works, including sonnets dedicated to his first wife and novels that explored themes of illness and war. His innovative writing combined dialogue, poetry, and literary quotations, creating a dream-like narrative style. He also wrote historical novels, such as "Bracke," which critiqued the folly of war. Despite his contributions to literature, Klabund's work was banned by the Nazis in the 1930s, leading to a decline in recognition. Klabund passed away in 1928, leaving behind a rich but underappreciated literary legacy.
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Klabund
Author
- Born: November 4, 1890
- Birthplace: Crossen an der Oder, Germany (now Krosno, Odrzańskie, Poland)
- Died: August 14, 1928
- Place of death: Davos, Switzerland
Biography
Klabund was the pseudonym of Alfred Henschke, a leading German writer during the short-lived Weimar Republic in the 1920’s. The son of a pharmacist, he was born in 1890 in Crossen an der Oder, now Krosno, Odrzańskie, Poland. In 1906 he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and struggled with the disease the rest of his life. He met his first wife, Brunhilde Heberle, in a tuberculosis sanatorium. She died of the disease in 1918, along with their infant daughter.
Klabund was excused from military service in World War I, and during this time he studied at Munich, Berlin, and Lausanne, Switzerland. He initially supported the war, but as the conflict dragged on he became increasingly pacifistic. In 1919, Klabund was arrested in Munich, accused of being a revolutionary, and imprisoned. Upon his release, his songs, many designed for the satiric cabaret that was fashionable at the time, made him popular. He remarried in 1925 to a Jewish actress, Carola Neher, who performed some of his cabaret material. However, his disease eventually overcame him, and he died in 1928 in Davos, Switzerland. The Nazis banned his work in the 1930’s, and it never regained its popularity or recognition.
During his brief career, Klabund wrote, edited, and translated prolifically. His first poems were published in 1913, one of which landed him in court when he was accused of blasphemy. He was acquitted, but the trial brought him immediate publicity. Before he became a pacifist, he edited two volumes of war poetry. After the war, he published Irene, oder die Gesinnung: Ein Gesang, a series of sonnets addressed to his first wife.
His illness inspired several of his works, including his novel Die Krankheit (the disease). His novel Spuk plays on the German word which means both “spook” and “sputum.” Thomas Mann’s similar novel about tuberculosis, Der Zauberberg (1924), was published just two years later. Another of Klabund’s works with similarities to a work by a more famous German writer was his drama Der Kreidekreis: Spiel in fünf Akten nach dem Chinesischen (pb. 1924; The Circle of Chalk,1929), echoed later by Bertold Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1948).
Klabund’s style was expressionistic, sometimes known as “ecstatic” prose, and often very condensed. His tuberculosis novels use a mixture of dialogue, poetry, and literary quotations, often producing a dream-like state. Other novels try to recapture the historical context of their period, such as Bracke (1918; Brackie, the Fool, 1927) and Borgia: Roman einer Familie (1928; The Incredible Borgias, 1929). Bracke is a trickster and fool in sixteenth century Brandenburg. Inevitably, his foolishness is the true wisdom, revealing the folly of war. Klabund wrote another antiwar novel, Mohammed: Der Roman eines Propheten. Klabund’s last novel, Rasputin, was adapted from a screenplay he had recently written for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.