Documents of Protest and Compassion: The Poetry of Walter Bauer PDF
Preview Documents of Protest and Compassion: The Poetry of Walter Bauer
Documents of Protest and Compassion The Poetry of Walter Bauer Walter Bauer, a socially committed writer and humanist, emigrated from Germany to Canada in 1952 after becoming disillusioned with social and intellectual developments in Germany. During his progression from dish- washer to university professor, Canada's multicultural outlook allowed him to remain true to himself and loyal to his intellectual heritage, but he died without seeing his humanistic goals fulfilled. While living in Canada he continued to write poetry for a German audience, but this audience ignored him. At the same time he remained unknown to most Canadians, whom he might have reached had he decided at an earlier stage to write in English. His dilemma, typical of that faced by many immigrant writers, is effectively documented in his writings. Documents of Protest and Compassion offers the first extensive critical assess- ment of Bauer's considerable poetic oeuvre. In this long-overdue supplement to recent anthologies of Bauer's poetry and essays on his life and work, Angelika Arend draws on Bauer's diaries and letters to reveal the pro- foundly humane intentions that guided his choice of themes and structures. She shows that social protest and brotherly compassion, shared responsibil- ity and critical self-reflection are Bauer's main thematic fare, which he presented in simple, yet carefully crafted, poetic structures, and explains how these ideas and forms developed or remained constant in light of historical, cultural, social, and personal developments. Documents of Protest and Compassion is important for those interested in Bauer's work, German poetry, German-Canadian literature, and the immi- grant writing experience. ANGELIKA AREND is associate professor of German, University of Victoria. Walter Bauer "'Wer sich bewegt, berührt die Welt, und wer ruht, den berührt sie. Deswegen müssen wir immer bereit sein, zu berühren und berührt zu werden.' (Goethe) (Tagebuch, 24. Mai 1958) Documents of Protest and Compassion The Poetry of Walter Bauer A N G E L I KA AREND McGill-Queen's University Press Montreal & Kingston • London • Ithaca McGill-Queen's University Press 1999 ISBN 07735-1879-7 Legal deposit fourth quarter 1999 Bibliothèque nationale du Quèbec Printed in Canada on acid-free paper This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Additional funding was provided by the University of Victoria. Canada McGill-Queen's University Press acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) for its activities. We also acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Arend, Angelika, 1942- Documents of protest and compassion: the poetry of Walter Bauer Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7735-1879-7 1. Bauer, Walter, 1904-1976. - Criticism and interpretation, I. Title. PT2603.A79Z58 1999 831' .914 C99-900807-2 Typeset in Palatino 10/12 by Caractèra inc., Quebec City Contents Acknowledgments vii Abbreviations ix Introduction 3 1 Poetic Creed 7 THE OLD WORLD 2 Mastering the Craft 23 3 Critical Strategies 39 AND THE NEW 4 The Price of Immigration 57 5 Holding Up the Mirror 70 6 Old Virtues Revisited 84 7 Theatrum Mundi 103 8 The Courage of Old Age 118 Postscript 135 Notes 137 Works Cited 143 Index 147 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments The initial impulse for this study came from Walter Riedel whose continued critical comment and encouragement I acknowledge with gratitude and appreciation. I am equally grateful to Rodney Syming- ton whose constructive criticism and practical help have been invalu- able to me. Sincere thanks also to Henry Beissel whose Bauer publications furnished the live wire connecting me to the poet's mind and heart. I would like to thank Inez Weston and Julian Manyoni for their careful scrutiny of the entire manuscript; Ulrich Profitlich for making available from his archive Walter Bauer's photograph; and Susan Mackey for stepping in at the eleventh hour to discipline the com- puter that had defeated me. I wish to acknowledge with thanks permission to quote from Bauer's works granted by the following persons and publishers: Günter Hess: Lebenslauf, Unpublished Letters and Diaries; Andreas J. Meyer, Merlin Verlag: Ein jahr, Fragment vom Hahnenschrei; Suhrkamp Verlag: Geburt des Poeten; Ragnar Tessloff, Tessloff Verlag: Der Weg zählt, Klopfzeichen, Mein blaues Oktavheft. This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of Canada. Additional publication assistance was received from the University of Victoria. I acknowledge both grants with gratitude. I dedicate this book to Horst Schreiner whose unflagging good humour and support enabled me to complete the project. This page intentionally left blank Abbreviations BAUER'S WORKS DS A Different Sun DT Dämmerung wird Tag EJ Ein Jahr FH Fragment vom Hahnenschrei GE Gast auf Erden GP Geburt des Poeten KS Kameraden, zu euch spreche ich KN Klopfzeichen LL Lebenslauf NT Nachtwachen des Tellerwäschers OH Mein blaues Oktavheft SL Stimme aus dem Leunawerk TF Tagebuchblätter aus Frankreich OTHER Wanderer Walter Riedel and Rodney Symington, eds. Der Wanderer. Aufsätze zu Leben und Werk von Walter Bauer TR The Tamarack Review UPM Henry Beissel, "The Unpublished Poetry Manuscripts of Walter Bauer's Last Decade." Wanderer 169-95.
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