German thinker icon became 93 – poet, thinker, daredevil: Hans Magnus Enzensberger died – culture

He wrote, argued and teased – to the end. The German writer died at the age of 93. Obituary for an intellectual with irony, for whom boredom was a foreign word.

He didn’t want to write his autobiography – and then did it anyway. Fragments of his memories can be found in “Tumult”. Enzensberger, one of the most important intellectuals in the German language, was a quick-change artist. One who loved the game and math.

He never wanted to be defined by positions that were once taken and attitudes that were eventually worn out. The “flying Robert” in “Struwwelpeter” is his emblem.

Born in 1929 in Kaufbeuren, southern Germany, as the eldest of four siblings in a civil servant household, Enzensberger made his debut with the volume of poems “Defense of the Wolves”.

A big performance: Hans Magnus Enzensberger becomes a member of “Group 47” and receives the Georg Büchner Prize early on. His extensive work covers all genres: poetry, prose, drama, essays, translations.

Of the «bad comrade»

He was politically active on the left and became the editor of the “Course Book”, the debate forum of the time. Although in 1968 the “revolution is on the agenda” for him too, Enzensberger is never really involved. “I was the bad comrade,” he says in retrospect.

“Sceptically sovereign” is his position, which he does not want to revoke later. With Gaston Salvatore he publishes the cultural magazine “Transatlantik” and with Franz Greno the books of the “Other Library”, which are dedicated to his literary preferences and discoveries.

He has doubts about the historical progress in his ballads “Mausoleum” and “The Sin of the Titanic”, his main literary works from the 1970s.

Poetry continues to be the focus of his literature, but with his essays “Mediocre and Wahn” he also becomes the distinguished diagnostician of his time.

Iintellectual jack of all trades

Hans Magnus Enzensberger interferes in public affairs, surprising in his appearance and always unpredictable in his attitude. He criticizes the spelling reform, the construction of the EU and the rule of the internet. He supports the Iraq war and only sees radical losers in Islamists.

“Intervention at your own risk,” as he recognized early on. But he is also sensitive to the wallpaper doors of the public when the debate escalates.

In all this he remains an observer, always at half distance. Curiosity and change remain his life principle. He likes to cover his tracks and disguise himself as a writer under various pseudonyms.

This is not possible without vanity, which he balances with irony, sharpness of thought and the reliable precision of his perceptions.

Answers to unasked questions

Discretion in private was Enzensberger’s passion, with two children from three marriages. “Sometimes one would be happy to get rid of oneself,” he quoted Max Beckmann in his book “Fallobst” from 2019. Notes on the pitfalls and unreasonable demands of everyday life, which Enzensberger is still interested in.

He’s someone who doesn’t want to be boring – with surprising answers to questions that haven’t been asked yet.

“Lighter than air” is the name of a collection of poems. Programmatically like later the “Story of the Clouds”. The poet disappears, lightly, in accordance with his poetic and personal ideal.

Enzensberger died in Munich at the age of 93. One will be remembered who left a big mark on German culture.