I always felt I had a good knowledge of postwar German literature, but I knew next to nothing about the work of Marie Luise Kaschnitz (1900-1974), Which is odd, since Kaschnitz was a prolific poet and author - equally admired for her poetry and short stories. She won every conceivable award in Germany for her work -including the prestigious Georg Büchner-Preis in 1955. Yet Kaschnitz is not mentioned at all in Peter Demetz's survey Postwar German Literature. Nor does she appear in Anatol Regnier's Jeder schreibt für sich allein (see my review) - a survey of German authors who remained in Germany during the Third Reich - even thought her first novel - Liebe beginnt - was published in 1933 and was well-received. I became interested in Kaschnitz after I came across a selection of her late poems translated by the German-American poet Liesel Mueller (1924-2020), whom I very much admire. I suspect that Kaschnitz is largely passed over today, since her poems- especially her most powerful late ones - are highly personal.
Liesel Mueller writes in her introduction:
"The switch from "we" to "I" allowed the poet and her persona to come together, as they had not done so before, and to free a lyrical voice that was uniquely hers. Yet there was never any danger of solipsism. She never wavered in her belief that writers must bear witness, nor abandoned her defense of objective values."
She alluded to this in her acceptance speech for the Georg Büchner-Preis:
"Den billigen Trost, den manche Leser vom Gedicht erwarten, habe ich nie geben wollen, und wenn meine Verse im Gegensatz zu den sogenannten hermetischen oder surrealistischen eher verständlich waren, so hängt das damit zusammen, daß mein Weg in der Lyrik mich von der Natur zum Menschen geführt hat und daß ich nie ganz vergessen konnte, daß ich mich Menschen mitteilte, freilich solchen, die die Mühe des Ungewohnten und nur langsam zu Begreifenden nicht scheuen."
Dagmar von Gersdorf's straightforward biography of Marie Luise Kashnitz does a good job of illuminating the personal aspects of her poetry, often including snippets of her poems while describing key episodes of the poet's long life. I would have liked to see a more critical assessment of her poetry and prose - what made it unique and still speaks to us today. What also struck me about the biography is the bibliography, which includes hundreds of names: a Who's Who of postwar German literature and publishing. Kaschnitz had the gift of friendship. She was an early admirer and friend of Paul Celan and attempted to console him during his plagiarism scandal - and was devastated by his suicide. Kaschnitz was something of a mother figure to Ingeborg Bachmann and supported her through her bipolar mood swings. Coincidentally Kashnitz died in Rome close to where Ingeborg Bachmann tragically died in a fire (likely suicide as well). Other close friendships include Theodor Adorno and - late in life - the poet Peter Huchel.
In her long life, Marie Luise Kaschnitz witnessed the death and destruction of war and lost friends and beloved siblings along the way. But it was the death of her husband - the archeologist Guido von Kashnitz - that nearly silenced her for good. Dagmar von Gersdorff describes the centrality of the poet's long marriage to Guido in her life. She was completely devoted to him - despite his infidelities. And for a long period following the death of Guido she was incapable of writing. But in 1962 she published perhaps her strongest collection of poems Dein Schweigen - meine Stimme - all dealing with the death of her husband. She somehow found her voice (Stimme) again. As Liesel Muller writes: "The pull of opposing forces, here represented by the longing for death and her native liveliness and curiosity, became characteristic of her poetry,"
Here is the last stanza of her poem "Ich lebte":
Angst zu sterben
Und Angst zu leben
Hielten sich die Waage noch immer.
Natur trug unbekümmert ihr altes Gewand
Herzzerreißende Schönheit.
Das Leben war noch immer ein Geheimnis,
Der Tod ein andres.
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