Stefan George

Stefan George in 1910

Stefan Anton George (July 12, 1868 - December 4, 1933) was a German poet, editor, and translator.

Stefan George and Maximilian Kronberger

Maximilian Kronberger

George's "pederasty" is reflected in works such as Algabal and the love poetry he devoted to a gifted adolescent of his acquaintance named Maximilian Kronberger, whom he called "Maximin", and whom he identified as a manifestation of the divine. The relevance of George's sexuality to his poetic work has been discussed by contemporary critics, such as Thomas Karlauf and Marita Keilson-Lauritz.

Maximin came to the attention of Stefan George in Munich in 1903 (according to some sources, in March 1902; others cite 1901 as the date of their original meeting); he died unexpectedly of meningitis the following year, on the day after his 16th birthday. He was "idealized [by George] to the point of proclaiming him a god, following his death... the cult of 'Maximin' became an integral part of the George circle’s practice…" The Maximin-Erlebnis certainly provided George with inspiration for his work in subsequent years.

Thirty-three of Kronberger’s poems are included in the posthumously published collective volume, Maximin: Ein Gedenkbuch (now a rare book).

Bibliography

Each year links to its corresponding "[year] in poetry" article (except for Tage und Taten, a prose work):

• 1890: Hymnen ("Hymns"), 18 poems written reflecting Symbolism; dedicated to Carl August Klein; limited, private edition
• 1891: Pilgerfahrten ("Pilgrimages") limited, private edition
• 1892: Algabal (1892); illustrated by Melchior Lechter; limited, private edition
• 1897: Das Jahr der Seele ("The Year of the Soul")
• 1899: Teppich des Lebens ("The Tapestry of Life")
• 1900: Hymnen, Pilgerfahrten, and Algabal, a one-volume edition published in Berlin by Georg Bondi which first made George's work available to the public at large
• 1901: Die Fibel ("Primer"), poems written from 1886-1889
• 1903: Tage und Taten ("Days and Works"; cf. Hesiod's Works and Days)
• 1907: Der siebente Ring ("The Seventh Ring")
• 1913: Der Stern des Bundes ("The Star of the Covenant")
• 1917: Der Krieg ("The War")
• 1928: Das neue Reich ("The Kingdom Come")

Studies

• Breuer, Stefan (1996). Ästhetischer Fundamentalismus: Stefan George und der deutsche Antimodernismus. Darmstadt: Primus.
• Capetanakis, D., 'Stefan George', in Demetrios Capetanakis A Greek Poet In England (1947), p. 72-89
• Frank, Lore & Sabine Ribbeck (2000). Stefan-George-Bibliographie 1976-1997. Mit Nachträgen bis 1976. Auf der Grundlage der Bestände des Stefan-George-Archivs in der Württembergischen Landesbibliothek. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
• Goldsmith, Ulrich (1951). Stefan George and the theatre. New York: The Modern Language Association (PLMA Publications LXVI:2).
• Goldsmith, Ulrich (1959). Stefan George: A study of his early work. Boulder: University of Colorado Press (University of Colorado Studies Series in Language and Literature 7).
• Goldsmith, Ulrich (1970). Stefan George. New York: Columbia University Press (Essays on Modern Writers).
• Goldsmith, Ulrich (1974). Shakespeare and Stefan George: The sonnets. Berne: Franke.
• Kluncker, Karlhans (1985). "Das geheime Deutschland": Über Stefan George und seinen Kreis. Bonn: Bouvier (Abhandlungen zur Kunst-, Musik- und Literaturwissenschaft 355).
• Norton, Robert E. (2002). Secret Germany: Stefan George and his Circle. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
• Schmitz, Victor (1978). Stefan George und Rainer Maria Rilke: Gestaltung und Verinnerlichung. Berne: Wild.
• Rieckmann, Jens (ed.) (2005). A Companion to the Works of Stefan George. Camden House.
• Lacchin, Giancarlo (2006). Stefan George e l'antichità. Lineamenti di una filosofia dell'arte. Lugano: University Words.
• Schefold, Bertram. (2011). Politische Ökonomie als Geisteswissenschaft. Edgar Salin und andere Ökonomen um Stefan George, in Studien zur Entwicklung der ökonomischen Theorie, XXVI. Edited by Harald Hagemann, Duncker & Humblot