Ludwig Derleth
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Ludwig Benjamin Derleth | |
|---|---|
 Ludwig Derleth in Paris, 1900 | |
| Born | November 3, 1870 |
| Died | January 13, 1948 (aged 77) |
Ludwig Benjamin Derleth (3 November 1870 – 13 January 1948) was a German writer and poet, best known for his highly-stylized and anti-humanistic writings on spirituality and Christianity.[1]
Derleth was born in 1870 in Gerolzhofen, Lower Franconia, Bavaria to Anna Maria (née Strobel) and Johann Derleth, at what is today Ludwig-Derleth-Strasse 4. He had a younger sister named Anna Maria (1874-1955), with whom he lived as a semi-recluse for his entire life. Ludwig Derleth spent his youth in Stadtprozelten, Bischofsheim, Münnerstadt, and Nuremberg.[2]
After studying philosophy, psychiatry, and classics, Derleth worked as a Gymnasium-level teacher of ancient languages for twelve years.[2]
In 1898 while visiting Paris, he met the symbolist poet Stefan George. While living in Munich, he became closer to George's entourage, as well as the Munich Cosmic Circle based around Alfred Schuler and Ludwig Klages, which broke up in 1904. Derleth was the subject of verses in two cyclical poems by George: his 1907 Der Siebenten Ring ("The Seventh Ring"), and his 1914 Der Stern des Bundes ("The Star of the Covenant").[1]
Derleth came into contact with the sculptor Georg Kolbe in Paris, and the latter began a short-lived romantic relationship with Derleth's sister Anna-Maria. Kolbe sculpted a portrait bust of Derleth in 1904.[3] During this period, he also travelled to Algeria, Budapest, Carthage, Iraq, Lebanon, Rhodes, and Syria.[2]
In later years, Derleth made his living as a freelance writer in Rome, Basel, and Perchtoldsdorf (near Vienna). In Rome, on 15 March 1924, he married Christine Ulrich (born 1894 in Darmstadt), whom he had met in 1911.[4] In 1935, he settled in neutral Ticino, Switzerland, where he died in 1948.[1]
Surviving her husband, Derleth's widow Christine undertook the collection, organization, and (re)publication of most of his work.[1] Derleth's archives are now held at the Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach.[5] A school in his birthplace of Gerolzhofen, the Ludwig-Derleth-Realschule, is named in his honour.[6]
