Felix Braun
Encyclopedia
Felix Braun was an Austria
n writer
.
family. His mother died in 1888 during the birth of his sister, Käthe, who would also become a famous writer. In 1904, he enrolled in German studies
, as well as art history
, at the University of Vienna
, and took his doctorate four years later. His literary publications began to appear in 1905 in the Neue Freie Presse
, the Österreichische Rundschau, and the Neue Rundschau. He was appointed arts editor of the Berliner National-Zeitung in 1910.
In 1912, Braun married Hedwig Freund, but the couple would divorce in 1915. While working as an editor at Verlag Georg Müller in Munich
, he made the acquaintance of a number of important writers, among whom were Hans Carossa
, Thomas Mann
, and Rainer Maria Rilke
. From 1928 to 1938, he was a Privatdozent
in German literature
at Palermo
and Padua
. He converted from Judaism
to Catholicism
in 1935. To escape persecution by the Nazis
, who banned his work, he immigrated in 1939 to the United Kingdom
and remained there until 1951, teaching literature and art history. After returning to Austria, Braun lectured at the Max Reinhardt Seminar
and the University of Applied Arts Vienna
. Braun died in 1973 and was honored with a burial in the Zentralfriedhof
of Vienna. In 1977, a lane in Vienna was named after him.
, where he found the company of such innovative writers as Stefan Zweig
, Anton Wildgans
, and Max Brod
. Braun was a Neo-Romantic
, who wrote refined, cultivated poetry in multiple forms
. His work centered around the themes of religion
, classical antiquity
, and his Austrian homeland. Braun also served as secretary to the great Austrian writer Hugo von Hofmannsthal
and formed a close friendship with his employer.
Braun edited and published a highly respected anthology
of German
lyric poetry
, called Der Tausendjährige Rosenstrauch (The Thousand-Year Rose Bush), in 1937. It has been reissued in numerous editions and remains one of the most popular collections of its kind. He also translated
the work of Thomas à Kempis
and John of the Cross
.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Life
Braun was born in Vienna to a JewishJews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
family. His mother died in 1888 during the birth of his sister, Käthe, who would also become a famous writer. In 1904, he enrolled in German studies
German studies
German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents, and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German history, and German politics in addition to the...
, as well as art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
, at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
, and took his doctorate four years later. His literary publications began to appear in 1905 in the Neue Freie Presse
Die Presse
Die Presse is an Austrian daily newspaper based in Vienna. It was founded in 1946 by World War II resistance fighter Ernst Molden and stands in tradition of the Viennese newspapers "Die Presse" and "Neue Freie Presse" . The paper covers general news topics...
, the Österreichische Rundschau, and the Neue Rundschau. He was appointed arts editor of the Berliner National-Zeitung in 1910.
In 1912, Braun married Hedwig Freund, but the couple would divorce in 1915. While working as an editor at Verlag Georg Müller in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, he made the acquaintance of a number of important writers, among whom were Hans Carossa
Hans Carossa
Hans Carossa was a German novelist and poet, known mostly for his autobiographical novels, and his innere Emigration during the Nazi era....
, Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
, and Rainer Maria Rilke
Rainer Maria Rilke
René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke , better known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was a Bohemian–Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language...
. From 1928 to 1938, he was a Privatdozent
Privatdozent
Privatdozent or Private lecturer is a title conferred in some European university systems, especially in German-speaking countries, for someone who pursues an academic career and holds all formal qualifications to become a tenured university professor...
in German literature
German literature
German literature comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German part of Switzerland, and to a lesser extent works of the German diaspora. German literature of the modern period is mostly in Standard German, but there...
at Palermo
University of Palermo
The University of Palermo is a university located in Palermo, Italy, and founded in 1806. It is organized in 12 Faculties.-History:The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although its earliest roots date back to 1498 when medicine and law were taught there...
and Padua
University of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...
. He converted from Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
to Catholicism
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
in 1935. To escape persecution by the Nazis
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, who banned his work, he immigrated in 1939 to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and remained there until 1951, teaching literature and art history. After returning to Austria, Braun lectured at the Max Reinhardt Seminar
Max Reinhardt Seminar
The Max Reinhardt Seminar is the School of Drama at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria. It is located in the Palais Cumberland, Penzingerstraße 9, in Vienna's 14th district - History :...
and the University of Applied Arts Vienna
University of Applied Arts Vienna
The University of Applied Arts Vienna is an institution of higher education in Vienna, the capital of Austria. It has had university status since 1970.-History:...
. Braun died in 1973 and was honored with a burial in the Zentralfriedhof
Zentralfriedhof
The Zentralfriedhof is one of the largest cemeteries in the world, largest by number of interred in Europe and most famous cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries.-Name and location:...
of Vienna. In 1977, a lane in Vienna was named after him.
Writing
At the beginning of the 20th century, Braun belonged to the movement known as Young ViennaYoung Vienna
Young Vienna was a society of fin de siècle writers who met in Vienna's Café Griensteidl and other nearby coffeehouses from 1890 until 1897...
, where he found the company of such innovative writers as Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most famous writers in the world.- Biography :...
, Anton Wildgans
Anton Wildgans
Anton Wildgans was an Austrian poet and playwright.His works, in which realism, neo-romanticism and expressionism mingle, focus on the drama of daily life....
, and Max Brod
Max Brod
Max Brod was a German-speaking Czech Jewish, later Israeli, author, composer, and journalist. Although he was a prolific writer in his own right, he is most famous as the friend and biographer of Franz Kafka...
. Braun was a Neo-Romantic
Neo-romanticism
The term neo-romanticism is used to cover a variety of movements in music, painting and architecture. It has been used with reference to very late 19th century and early 20th century composers such as Gustav Mahler particularly by Carl Dahlhaus who uses it as synonymous with late Romanticism...
, who wrote refined, cultivated poetry in multiple forms
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. His work centered around the themes of religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, classical antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
, and his Austrian homeland. Braun also served as secretary to the great Austrian writer Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal ; , was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist.-Early life:...
and formed a close friendship with his employer.
Braun edited and published a highly respected anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
lyric poetry
Lyric poetry
Lyric poetry is a genre of poetry that expresses personal and emotional feelings. In the ancient world, lyric poems were those which were sung to the lyre. Lyric poems do not have to rhyme, and today do not need to be set to music or a beat...
, called Der Tausendjährige Rosenstrauch (The Thousand-Year Rose Bush), in 1937. It has been reissued in numerous editions and remains one of the most popular collections of its kind. He also translated
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
the work of Thomas à Kempis
Thomas à Kempis
Thomas à Kempis was a late Medieval Catholic monk and the probable author of The Imitation of Christ, which is one of the best known Christian books on devotion. His name means, "Thomas of Kempen", his home town and in German he is known as Thomas von Kempen...
and John of the Cross
John of the Cross
John of the Cross , born Juan de Yepes Álvarez, was a major figure of the Counter-Reformation, a Spanish mystic, Catholic saint, Carmelite friar and priest, born at Fontiveros, Old Castile....
.
Awards and honors
- 1947 Literaturpreis der Stadt Wien
- 1951 Großer Österreichischer Staatspreis für Literatur
- 1955 Ehrenring der Stadt Wien
- 1955 Stiftermedaille des Bundesministeriums für Unterricht
- 1965 Grillparzer-Preis
- 1966 Großes Ehrenzeichen für Kunst und Wissenschaft
Publications
- Gedichte, poems, 1909
- Novellen und Legenden, 1910
- Der Schatten des Todes, novel, 1910
- Till Eulenspiegels Kaisertum, comedy, 1911
- Neues Leben, poems, 1912
- Verklärungen, 1916
- Tantalos, tragedy, 1917
- Die Träume des Vineta, legends, 1919
- Hyazinth und Ismene, dramatic lyrics, 1919
- Das Haar der Berenike, poems, 1919
- Attila, legend, 1920
- Aktaion, tragedy, 1921
- Die Taten des Herakles, novel, 1921
- Wunderstunden, short stories 1923
- Der unsichtbare Gast, novel, 1924, rev. 1928
- Der Schneeregenbogen, 1925
- Das innere Leben, poems, 1926
- Deutsche Geister, essay, 1925
- Die vergessene Mutter, short stories, 1925
- Esther, play, 1926
- Der Sohn des Himmels, mystery play, 1926
- Agnes Altkirchner, novel, 1927, rev. 1965
- Zwei Erzählungen von Kindern, 1928
- Die Heilung der Kinder, short stories, 1929
- Laterna magica, short stories and legends, 1932
- Ein indisches Märchenspiel, 1935
- Ausgewählte Gedichte, 1936
- Kaiser Karl V., tragedy, 1936
- Der Stachel in der Seele, novel, 1948
- Das Licht der Welt, autobiography, 1949, rev. 1962
- Die Tochter des Jairus, drama, 1950
- Briefe in das Jenseits, short stories, 1952
- Aischylos, dialogue, 1953
- Viola d`Amore, selected poems from 1903-1953, 1953
- Das musische Land, essays, 1952, rev. 1970
- Die Eisblume, essays, 1955
- Rudolf der Stifter, drama, 1955
- Joseph und Maria, drama, 1956
- Irina und der Zar, drama, 1956
- Orpheus, tragedy, 1956
- Unerbittbar bleibt Vergangenheit, selected works, 1957
- Gespräch über Stifters Mappe meines Urgroßvaters, 1958
- Der Liebeshimmel, 1959
- Palermo und Monreale, 1960
- Imaginäre Gespräche, 1960
- Rede auf Max Mell, 1960
- Zeitgefährten, Begegnungen, 1963
- Die vier Winde, Christmas stories, 1964
- Schönes in Süditalien - Palermo, essays, 1965
- Anrufe des Geistes, essays, 1965
- Aufruf zur Tafel, mystery, 1965
- Das weltliche Kloster, short stories, 1965
- Das Nelkenbeet, poems from 1914-1965, 1965
- Frühe und späte Dramen 1909-1967, 1971
Further reading
- Dencker, Klaus Peter. Literarischer Jugendstil im Drama: Studien zu Felix Braun. Vienna: Schendl, 1971. ISBN 3-85268-028-X.