Alfred Kerr

Alfred Kerr (25 December 1867 ? 12 October 1948) was an influential German-Jewish theatre critic and essayist, nicknamed Kulturpapst (culture Pope) .

Related Topics:
25 December - 1867 - 12 October - 1948 - German - Jew - Essayist

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was born Alfred Kempner into a prosperous family in Breslau (now Wroclaw in Poland), taking the surname Kerr in 1887, and making the change officially in 1909. He studied literature in Berlin with Erich Schmidt. He subsequently was a reviewer for numerous newpapers and magazines. With the publisher Paul Cassirer he founded the artistic review Pan in 1910.

Related Topics:
Breslau - Wroclaw - Poland - Erich Schmidt - Paul Cassirer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was noted for his treatment of drama criticism as another branch of literary criticism. As his fame grew he engaged in polemics, with the critics Maximilian Harden and Herbert Ihering in particular. In the 1920s he was hostile to Bertolt Brecht, and assailed him with accusation of plagiarism. His books were amongst those burnt in May 1933 by the Nazis when they came to power; Kerr had attacked the NSDAP very publicly, and he had already gone into exile with his family. After Prague, Vienna, Switzerland and France he came to London in 1935 where he settled, in penury. He was a founder of the Freien Deutschen Kulturbund, and worked for the German PEN club. Am old feud with Karl Kraus worked against him in some quarters.

Related Topics:
Literary criticism - Maximilian Harden - Herbert Ihering - Bertolt Brecht - Plagiarism - Nazi - NSDAP - Prague - Vienna - Switzerland - France - PEN - Karl Kraus

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He took British citizenship in 1947. He died while on a visit to Hamburg.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Alfred-Kerr-Preis für Literaturkritik was established in 1977. As of 2004 his works are once more available and widely read in Germany.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His daughter Judith Kerr wrote a three-volume autobiography; the writer Matthew Kneale is her son with Nigel Kneale, the writer of Quatermass scripts.

Related Topics:
Judith Kerr - Matthew Kneale - Nigel Kneale - Quatermass

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~