Richard Beer-Hofmann

 
German Literature Companion:

Richard Beer-Hofmann

Beer-Hofmann, Richard (Vienna, 1866-1945, New York), a well-to-do Viennese of Jewish descent, was a friend of H. von Hofmannsthal and A. Schnitzler. He emigrated to the USA on the German invasion of Austria in 1938. He first published Novellen (1893), but he became better known as the author of the play Der Graf von Charolais (1904), based on The Fatal Dowry of 1632 by Massinger and Field. Towards the end of his life he concentrated on themes connected with Jewish history, particularly King David (Jaákobs Traum, 1918; Der junge David, 1933; Vorspiel auf dem Theater zu König David, 1936). A trilogy intended to end with David's death was never completed. In 1919 he published Schlaflied für Mirjam.

Gesammelte Werke (1963, preface by M. Buber) contains Paula (ed. O. Kallir), an autobiographical fragment. Correspondence with H. von Hofmannsthal, ed. E. Weber, appeared in 1972.

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Wikipedia: Richard Beer-Hofmann

Richard Beer-Hofmann (born 11 July 1866 in Vienna — died 26 September 1945 in New York) was an Austrian dramatist and poet.

After the early death of his mother, Beer-Hofmann was raised by his aunt's family in Brno and Vienna. In the 1880s he studied law in Vienna, receiving his doctorate in 1890. In the same year he became acquainted with the writers Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Hermann Bahr and Arthur Schnitzler, with whom he shared a long friendship. He consequently began his literary activities as a freelance writer.

At first Beer-Hofmann wrote novellas, later moving on to short stories and poetry. In the 1920s he worked as a theatre director for Max Reinhardt, a role which continued until 1932. In 1939 Beer-Hofmann emigrated from Austria, and travelled to New York via Zurich. Subsequently his works were banned in Austria and Germany. In 1945 he became an American citizen, but died within the same year.

Beer-Hofmann's literary output consists primarily of novellas, dramas, and poems. It can be considered part of the literary current of the Wiener Moderne. Beer-Hofmann received several notable literary awards, including the Volksschillerpreis in 1905 in Germany and the award of the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1945 in the United States. One year after his death the Beer-Hofmann Society was created in New York.

Works

  • Novellen
  • Der Tod Georgs
  • Der Graf von Charolais
  • Gedenkrede auf Wolfgang Amadée Mozart
  • Trilogy “Die Historie von König David” (uncompleted)
    • Jakobs Traum
    • Der junge David
  • Paula. Ein Fragment
  • Verse
  • Schlaflied für Mirjam

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German Literature Companion. The Oxford Companion to German Literature. Copyright © 1976, 1986, 1997, 2005 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
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