Johannes Bobrowski

Bobrowski, Johannes 

Born Apr. 9, 1917, in Tilsit; died Sept. 2,1965, in Berlin. German writer (German Democratic Republic). Son of a railroad worker.

A participant in World War II, Bobrowski was a prisoner in the USSR from 1945 to 1949. His first collections of poetry were published in 1961–62, followed by collections of short stories and the novel Levin’s Mill (1964). Published posthumously were the novel Lithuanian Keyboards (1966) and the collection of short stories The Forewarning (1967). The relations between the Germans and their eastern neighbors, the Slavs and Lithuanians, is the main concern in Bobrowski’s creative work, and he resolves it on a humanistic level. His poetry and prose are characterized by subtle lyricism and abundant historical digressions and comparisons.

WORKS

Mäusefest und andere Erzählungen. Berlin, 1965.
Boehlendorff und andere Erzählungen. Stuttgart, 1965.
Sarmatische Zeit: Gedichte, 2nd ed. Berlin, 1966.
Schattenland Ströme: Gedichte, 2nd ed. Berlin, 1966.
In Russian translation:
“Poiushchee slovo: Stikhotvoreniia.” Inostrannaia literatura, 1968, no. 5.
“Litovskie klaviry.” Inostrannaia literatura, 1969, no. 4.
“Stikhi raznykh let.” Inostrannaia literatura, 1970, no. 8.

REFERENCES

Ratgauz.G. “Vremia nadezhdy.” Voprosy literatury, 1966, no. 11.
Girnus, V. “Krasnye rozy Iogannesu Bobrovskomu.” Inostrannaia literatura, 1969, no. 2.
Wolf.G. J. Bobrowski. Berlin, 1967.

A. V. KAREL’SKII