Wuppertal poets' circle explained

The Wuppertal poets' circle (German: Wuppertaler Dichterkreis or German: Wupperbund) was a literary circle that existed during the 1850s, remaining active into the 1870s and 1880s. The core of the loosely-knit group consisted of seven poets born in or around Wuppertal, Germany: the merchants, Emil Rittershaus, Friedrich Roeber, Adolf Schults, Wilhelm Wens, Carl Siebel, Karl Stelter,^[1] and the bookseller Hugo Oelbermann. The circle "opposed gloomy Wuppertal Pietism with a free and joyful view of existence."

History

The founders of the Wuppertal poets largely came from affluent merchant families. The forerunners to the circle included Biedermeier reading clubs, theatres and other societies in the 1830s and 1840s—directly, however, the association had its origins in an earlier reading circle and amateur theatre existing in the late 1840s, composed of Hugo Oelbermann, Emil Ritterhaus, Wilhelm Wens and later Carl Siebel.

This culminated in the founding of the circle in 1850, initially called the Wupperbund, by Oelbermann, Rittershaus, Wens and Siebel. Aiming to give the circle credibility, they recruited figures already known in Wuppertal such as Adolf Schults and Friedrich Roeber, as well as lawyers, conductors and organists.

The members of the circle met at the coffeehouse of "Knevels" in the in Barmen, Wuppertal.

The circle partially dissolved in 1853, after the departure of Oelbermann from Barmen, and was replaced by a Sunday circle (German: Sonntagskränzchen) at the house of Roeber, consisting of poetry recitations and drama readings. This successor itself dissolved in the early 1860s.

Author Jost Hermand in 1998 summarised the circle as follows:

The term German: Wuppertaler Dichterkreis used to describe the group was coined by poet Wolfgang Müller von Königswinter in 1863.

Friedrich Engels knew multiple members of the circle, keeping in contact with them during his residence in Bremen in 1838–1841, as some were fellow pupils of his at the Elberfeld high school. This is also evidenced by his association and correspondence with Siebel and Rittershaus.^[2]

Notable members

• Carl Siebel
• Karl Stelter
• Hugo Oelbermann
• Friedrich Roeber
• Emil Rittershaus
• Wilhelm Wens
• Adolf Schults
• Reinhart Neuhaus
• Jan Albert van Eijken
• Carl Reinecke
• Johann Richard Seel
• Heinrich Koester

The 1970s Wupperbund

In the early 1970s, a literature workshop was established at the Wuppertal Adult Education Center, which was compared to the Wuppertal circle in the regional press.^[3] This new "literature workshop"^[4] participated in the founding of the nationwide in Cologne in 1970 and then hosted a large gathering of its member "workshops" as part of the intercommunal festival URBS '71 in .^{[5] [6] [7]}

References

Bibliography

• Book: Bark, Joachim . Der Wuppertaler Dichterkreis; Untersuchungen zum Poeta minor im 19. Jahrhundert . H. Bouvier . 1969 . Bonn, Germany . The Wuppertal Poets' Circle; Studies on the poeta minor in the 19th century . 4240725.
• Book: Brandt-Schwarze, Ulrike . Handbuch literarisch-kultureller Vereine, Gruppen und Bünde: 1825 - 1933 . 1998a . J.B. Metzler . 978-3-476-03621-6 . Wülfing . Wulf . Repertorien zur deutschen Literaturgeschichte . Stuttgart Weimar . 389–392 . de . Handbook of literary and cultural associations, groups and societies 1825-1933 . 103. Roebersches Sonntagskränzchen [Elberfeld/Bannen] . 103. Roeber's Sunday circle [Elberfeld/Bannen] . 10.1007/978-3-476-03621-6 . Bruns . Karin . Parr . Rolf . subscription.
• Book: Brandt-Schwarze, Ulrike . Handbuch literarisch-kultureller Vereine, Gruppen und Bünde: 1825 - 1933 . 1998b . J.B. Metzler . 978-3-476-03621-6 . Wülfing . Wulf . Repertorien zur deutschen Literaturgeschichte . Stuttgart Weimar . 496–500 . de . Handbook of literary and cultural associations, groups and societies 1825-1933 . 128. Wupperbund [Barmen] . 10.1007/978-3-476-03621-6 . Bruns . Karin . Parr . Rolf . subscription.
• Findlay . Ian . 1972 . Review of Der Wuppertaler Dichterkreis: Untersuchungen zum Poeta Minor im 19. Jahrhundert. . MLN . 87 . 5 . 800–803 . 10.2307/2907881 . 2907881 . 0026-7910 . subscription.
• Book: Hermand, Jost . Die deutschen Dichterbünde: von den Meistersingern bis zum PEN-Club . 1998 . Böhlau . 978-3-412-09897-1 . Weimar Wien. de. The German Poets' Associations: From the Meistersingers to the PEN-CLUB. 39515747. Die Wuppertaler Dichterbünde. https://archive.org/details/diedeutschendich0000herm/page/124/mode/1up. 124–126.
• Book: Marx . Karl . Marx and Engels Collected Works: Karl Marx March 1843-August 1844 . Engels . Friedrich . . 2010 . 978-1-84327-947-1 . 3.

Further reading

• Book: Clauder, Heidelind . Wuppertaler Schriftsteller des 19. Jahrhunderts zwischen Revolution und Anpassung . Tectum Verlag . 2012 . 978-3-8288-2893-3 . Marburg . de . Wuppertal writers of the 19th century between revolution and adaptation . 793511310.

Notes and References

1. Book: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . . 1909 . 18 . Leipzig, Germany . 925 . de . Meyers Lexikon . Stelter, Karl . 10 May 2024 . http://www.zeno.org/Meyers-1905/A/Stelter.

2. "Schults belonged to a group of Wuppertal writers and art-lovers which included many of Engels' fellow pupils from the Elberfeld high school who kept in touch with him during his residence (from July 1838 to March 1841) in Bremen, where he was gaining practical experience with a commercial firm and was also engaged in literary activities."

3. News: Lübben . Gerd Hergen . January 2, 1971 . Spracharbeit und Arbeitswelt. Vom 'Wupperbund' zur Wupper-'Werkstatt'. . Language work and the world of work. From the 'Wupperbund' to the Wupper 'workshop' . Westdeutsche Rundschau . de . 12242198.
4. News: Böger . Helmut . 21 November 1970 . Die Anlässe des Schreibens . The Occasions of Writing . . de.
5. Book: Lübben, Gerd Hergen . Werkstatt-Heft 1 der Westberliner Werkstatt im Werkkreis Literatur der Arbeitswelt . 1970 . de . Workshop Notebook 1 of the West Berlin Workshop in the Literary Work Circle of the Working World . Aus der Maloche zur Sprache. Die Wuppertaler Werkstatt für Literatur der Arbeitswelt. . From hardship to language. The Wuppertal Workshop for Literature of the Working World..
6. News: Rabasseda . Edith . 24 June 1971 . Literatur in Aktion. In der Woche von "URBS 71" trafen sich in Wuppertal fünfzehn Werkstätten des Werkkreises Literatur der Arbeitswelt. . Literature in action. During the week of "URBS 71", fifteen workshops from the Literature of the Working World group met in Wuppertal. . .
7. Lübben . Gerd Hergen . 1972 . Urbs 71. Notizen zu einer kulturellen Initiative . Urbs 71. Notes on a cultural initiative. . Der Städtetag . de . Cologne . 9.