Rudolf Pannwitz

Rudolf Pannwitz (27 May 1881 in Crossen/Oder, Province of Brandenburg, Prussia – 23 March 1969 in Astano, Ticino, Switzerland) was a German writer, poet and philosopher. His thought combined nature philosophy, Nietzsche, an opposition to nihilism and pan-European internationalism:

Pannwitz's elusive, difficult goal may be seen as the complete re-evaluation of man, art, science and culture envisaged as the expression of an evolving cosmos obeying the laws of eternal recurrence, with Nietzsche-Zarathustra as the supreme prophet.^[1]

Life

Pannwitz was educated at the University of Marburg before moving to Berlin to continue studying. Through Gertrud Kantorowicz, a cousin of Ernst Kantorowicz and friend of Georg Simmel, he was introduced to Sabine Lepsius and the poetry of Stefan George. Pannwitz's poem 'Das Totengedicht' [The Poem of the Dead] was published in George's literary magazine, Blätter für die Kunst.^[1] George and Nietzsche were lasting influences upon Pannwitz.^[2] In 1904 Pannwitz cofounded the periodical Charon with Otto zur Linde, co-editing it until 1906. His 1917 book The Crisis of European Culture impressed Hugo von Hofmannsthal, though Hofmannsthal later distanced himself from Pannwitz.^[1]

From 1921 to 1948 Pannwitz lived on the small island of Koločep. In 1968 he received the Gryphius Prize.^[3]

Works

Prose

Die Erziehung, 1909
Formenkunde der Kirche, 1912
Die Krisis der europäischen Kultur, 1917
Die deutsche Lehre, 1919
Grundriß einer Geschichte meiner Kultur 1886 bis 1906, 1921
Kosmos Atheos, 1926
Die Freiheit der Menschen, 1926
Logos, Eidos, Bios, 1930
Der Ursprung und das Wesen der Geschlechter, 1936
Nietzsche und die Verwandlung des Menschen, 1940
Weg des Menschen, 1942
Das Weltalter und die Politik, 1948
Der Nihilismus und die werdende Welt, 1951
Nach Siebzig Jahren, 1951
Beiträge zu einer europäischen Kultur, 1954

Poetry

Prometheus, 1902
Dionysische Tragödien, 1913
Mythen, 1919-1921, In 9 Parts, including Das Kind Aion, Der Elf, Das Lied vom Ehlen, Faustus und Helena, Der Gott, and Logos.
Urblick, 1926
Hymnen aus Widars Wiederkehr, 1927
König Laurin, 1956
Wasser wird sich ballen, 1963

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Raymond Furness, Zarathustra's children: a study of a lost generation of German writers, pp.17ff.
^ Pannwitz, Was ich Nietzsche und George danke, 1989
^ 'Pannwitz, Rudolf', in The Oxford Companion to German Literature, ed. Henry & Mary Garland, 3rd ed., 1997, pp.646-7

External links

Works by or about Rudolf Pannwitz at the Internet Archive

[Furness-1] Raymond Furness, Zarathustra's children: a study of a lost generation of German writers, pp.17ff.

[2] Pannwitz, Was ich Nietzsche und George danke, 1989

[3] 'Pannwitz, Rudolf', in The Oxford Companion to German Literature, ed. Henry & Mary Garland, 3rd ed., 1997, pp.646-7

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