Peter Härtling

Biography

Härtling was born at Chemnitz, and spent the early part of his childhood living in Hartmannsdorf, Mittweida, where his father maintained a law firm. Following the outbreak of World War II, the family moved to the German-occupied town of Olomouc in Moravia. Like many of the town's German residents, Härtling's family fled before the Red Army's advance on the city during the final months of the war; the family briefly settled in Zwettl, Austria. Härtling's father was captured by the Russians, and died in June 1945 at the prisoner-of-war camp in Dollersheim. Following the conclusion of World War II, Härtling finally settled in Nürtingen, Baden-Württemberg. His mother committed suicide in October 1946. He studied under HAP Grieshaber at the Bernsteinschule art school, before starting work as a journalist.

Härtling had his first collection of poetry published in 1953. From 1967 to 1973, Härtling was the managing director of the German publishing house S. Fischer Verlag, located in Frankfurt. Härtling became a full-time writer after leaving S. Fischer Verlag. In 1976, he published a fairy tale called, Fundevogel (English version as "The Foundling"), which is part of the children's book Update on Rumpelstiltskin and other Fairy Tales by 43 Authors, which is compiled by Hans-Joachim Gelberg, illustrated by Willi Glasauer, and published by Beltz & Gelberg. In the winter semester of 1983/84, he hosted the annual Frankfurter Poetik-Vorlesungen, a lecture series, in which a prominent writer discourses on topics pertaining to their work. Härtling used his lectureship to demonstrate the process of using a found object as the inspiration for a literary work. During the series of lectures, he wrote Der spanische Soldat, a short story based on a photograph by Robert Capa.

Härtling has worked as the editor of the magazine Der Monat, and as the president of the Hölderlin society. He currently lives in Mörfelden-Walldorf.

Literary themes

Härtling has devoted a large proportion of his literary output – both in poetry, and in prose – to the reclamation of history, and his own past. His autobiographical novel, Zwettl (1973), deals with the period he spent living in Lower Austria, after his family fled from the Red Army. Nachgetragene Liebe (1980) recounts Härtling's earliest memories of his deceased father.

Another major influence on Härtling's works has been the literature and music of Romanticism. Amongst other works, Härtling has written fictionalised biographical works on the writers Friedrich Hölderlin, Wilhelm Waiblinger and E. T. A. Hoffmann, and the composers Franz Schubert, and Robert Schumann.

Children's literature

In 1969, after writing a eulogy for the Czech children's writer Jan Procházka, Härtling began writing books for children. His first children's book, Und das ist die ganze Familie, was published the following year. His children's literature has often focused on social problems involving children. In Das war der Hirbel (1973), he wrote about the home of a maladjusted child, and Oma (1975) talks about aging and death, whilst Theo haut ab (1977) deals with being uprooted from home and family. There are English translations of several of his children's books, including Granny (Oma), Crutches (Krücke), Ben Loves Anna (Ben liebt Anna), Old John (Alter John), and Herbie's World (Das war der Hirbel).

Radio

Härtling has been the moderator of the Literatur im Kreuzverhörshow, a radio show on the cultural radio station of Hessischer Rundfunk.

Awards

Peter Härtling's awards include: