Kleist Prize

Kleist Prize
   The principal impetus for this prize came from Berlin theater critic Fritz Engel in 1911. Engel felt that, on the 100th anniversary of Heinrich von Kleist's suicide (13 November 1811), never again should a young playwright writing in German die from lack of attention. Engel put together the Kleist Foundation, whose board consisted of several notables, among them Ludwig Barnay, Otto Brahm, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Ludwig Fulda, Max Reinhardt, and Arthur Schnitzler. The foundation itself was made up almost entirely of actors, directors, critics, playwrights, and publishers.
   All had "progressive" political and artistic agendas in mind when agreeing to membership. The foundation's mission was to provide financial support to struggling male and female playwrights of the German language — though the actual emolument remained relatively small compared to other such prizes.
   Three women won the prize: Anna Seghers, Else Lasker-Schüler, and Agnes Miegel. Carl Zuckmayer won the prize in 1925, but he dismissed its value because it often signaled to producers and audiences a predilection for left-wing causes. He nevertheless accepted the prize, and the play for which he received it (Der fröhliche Weinberg The Merry Vineyard) went on to earn him thousands of marks. Most often recipients of the prize were supposed to be controversial, or at least unusual. Thus the foundation took the singular step of naming someone to award the prize, rather than awarding it on the basis of a jury vote. For example, Paul Fechter awarded Zuckmayer his prize; Herbert Ihering awarded Bertolt Brecht his; and in 1931 Zuckmayer in turn awarded Ödön von Horvâth the Kleist Prize.
   The National Socialists disbanded the foundation in 1933, calling attention to "all the Jews and half-Jews on the Foundation's board" and the "decadent writing" the foundation had supported.

Historical dictionary of German Theatre. . 2006.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kleist Prize — The Kleist Prize is an annual German literature prize. The prize was first awarded in 1912, on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the death of Heinrich von Kleist. The Kleist Prize was the most important literary award of the Weimar… …   Wikipedia

  • Kleist — Kleist, or von Kleist, is a surname.von Kleist: *Ewald Jürgen Georg von Kleist (ca. 1700 1748), co inventor of the Leyden jar *Ewald Christian von Kleist (1715 1759), German poet and soldier *Friedrich Graf Kleist von Nollendorf (1762 1823),… …   Wikipedia

  • Kleist, Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von — (1777 1811)    Playwright. Kleist was a master of German verse, in both comedy and tragedy. During his own lifetime, however, his work found little favor among managers due to the French occupation of most German territories. Kleist s most… …   Historical dictionary of German Theatre

  • Heinrich von Kleist — Born Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist 18 October 1777 Frankfurt (Oder), Margraviate of Brandenburg, Holy Roman Empire Died 18 November 1811 …   Wikipedia

  • Von Kleist — is a Prussian noble family. Notable members of this family include:*Ewald Jürgen Georg von Kleist (ca. 1700 1748); co inventor of the Leyden jar. *Ewald Christian von Kleist (1715 1759); German poet and soldier; *Friedrich Emil Ferdinand Heinrich …   Wikipedia

  • Max & Moritz Prize — The Max Moritz Prize is a prize for comic books, comic strips, and other similar materials which has been awarded at each of the biennial International Comics Shows of Erlangen since 1984. It is open to all material published in Germany. Contents …   Wikipedia

  • List of Ig Nobel Prize winners — This is a list of Ig Nobel Prize winners from 1991 to the present day. A parody of the Nobel Prizes, the Ig Nobel Prizes are given each year in early October around the time the recipients of the genuine Nobel Prizes are announced for ten… …   Wikipedia

  • Ig Nobel Prize — Prix Ig Nobel Cette grenouille en lévitation grâce a un dispositif magnétique a fait l objet du prix Ig Nobel de physique 2000. L Ig Nobel Prize est un prix parodique décerné à des personnes ayant accompli des performances particulièrement… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Chronology — 970 980 Roswitha of Gandersheim writes six comedies in Latin at the Brunshausen Cloister, near Braunschweig. 1185 1240 Neidhart von Reuental s poems presumably become the basis for several Neidhartspiele, comic interludes in Middle High German… …   Historical dictionary of German Theatre

  • Mosebach, Martin — ▪ 2008 born July 31, 1951, Frankfurt am Main, Ger.       German novelist and essayist Martin Mosebach in 2007 received the Georg Büchner Prize, his homeland s most prestigious literary honour. The award was given by the German Academy for… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”