Hans Magnus Enzensberger Interview: A Closer Look

“Everyone has a novel inside. Not everyone writes that novel, thank goodness.” Sit back and enjoy this honest and in-depth interview with one of Europe’s great socially engaged intellectuals - German author Hans Magnus Enzensberger.
86-year-old Enzensberger, who has lived through the Third Reich and World War II, has remained a non-ideological person: “I lack the ability to put faith in things. Anything that ends in ‘ism.’ You have to take a closer look. What are we dealing with here? It often turns out that it doesn’t correspond to reality.” In connection to this, the issue of digital surveillance upsets Enzensberger. He feels that it has also become an ideology, and that “all that Facebook nonsense” is just another way of making money: “I enjoy being analogue. I eat in an analogue fashion. I sleep in an analogue fashion. I love in an analogue fashion. I don’t love digitally. I don’t need that. Maybe I’m just old hat.”
Enzensberger reflects on how works published in the 1960’s - including his own - reflected a great hunger and desire for change: “German society had to be re-established. It was no longer viable… And that can’t be accomplished quietly. It comes with all sorts of labour pains so to speak.” Writing his autobiographies, he came up with the idea of confronting an older gentleman with a younger man in order to maintain the honest perspective of the young man he once was: “There’s a fine line between autobiography and lies.”
Hans Magnus Enzensberger (b. 1929) is a German writer with a great literary output ranging over poetry, essays, non-fiction, theatre, plays, opera, radio montages and children’s books. Among his most recent publications is his first book of memoirs ‘Tumult’ (2014), about the watershed years 1963-1970, which was widely praised. Enzensberger is also an editor (e.g. of the prestigious book series Die Andere Bibliothek) and has translated numerous poetry collections. He is the recipient of several literary awards, including a special Lifetime Recognition Award in 2009 given by the trustees of the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry, which also awards the annual Griffin Poetry Prize.
Hans Magnus Enzensberger was interviewed by Marc-Christoph Wagner in connection to the Louisiana Literature festival at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in August 2015.
Camera: Klaus Elmer
Edited by: Klaus Elmer
Produced by: Marc-Christoph Wagner
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2015
Supported by Nordea-fonden

[@Draxtor]

One of the greatest thank you!

[@Draxtor]

I can not believe he passed away just a few months ago, matter of fact about 10 miles from where I am right now ..... talking about imaginary travels and such ... wish I could have had him in Second Life on our book show ....

[@johanvandermeulen9696]

Hans Magnus Enzensberger war auch in Holland populär. Er war befreundet mit Simon Vinkenoog, einer unserer bekanntesten experimentelen Dichter. Der Name Vinkenoog ist deutschen Ursprungs. Ein Finkenauge war eine deutsche Münze in Schlesien.

[@ezekielyu4294]

I love this channel. It's opened me up to a lot of new areas I wouldn't have thought about exploring. I will have to check out the work of this man, he seems like someone who's written a book or two of real worth in his long life. Thanks again!

[@brdmohamedali]

Hans Magnus Enzensberger, is an intellectual Person, in the perfect sense of the word intellectual Poet.

[@ingefranz2013]

Danke für das Interview. Jetzt verstehe ich Enzensberger besser. Schon unsere Deutschlehrerin hat über ihn geredet , aber ich wusste nicht viel über diesen wichtigen Literaten

[@beammeupscotty4277]

Danke mein lieber Lyriker. Das schönste Gedicht ist für mich das über Ihre Frau. 💜

[@TheStarmilk]

oh mein gott ich liebe diesen Menschen, das ist dermaßen viel an entfalteter Menschwerdung !!

[@HC-yg3ro]

Hervorragend, buchstäblich - aber die Fragen sind mühsam

[@bma1955alimarber]

Nicht alle fragen sind muhsam..! some questions were very good ones

[@damookie]

fantastic, thanks for sharing this.

[@brdmohamedali]

a very good and instructive interview. I remember Hans Magnus Enzensberger public debate evening in Rabat, 8 years ago. and it was about crisis in poetry...

[@olivierrenault8307]

Sehr schön.

[@structurepurist6777]

Er fehlt mir. Ich gönne ihm die Erlösung.

[@sysyphosliebtsteine]

Großartiger Denker

[@isabell3137]

R.i.p.💛🌟

[@GKo2024]

Sehr elegant, bis zum Schluss, und sehr weise. So wie der Asiatische Maler, der am Ende in seinem eigenen Rollbild, seiner eigenen mit Tusche gezeichneten Landschaft verschwindet.

[@marctwain8273]

Hans Magnus Enzensberger erhellend, aber sehr erleichternd.....

[@gangamecker8221]

Wir , mein Bruder und ich sind damals , mit dem " Finger auf der Landkarte " verreist ! 🌍🌏

[@jcmangan]

Geistesheiterkeit.

[@mamazon70]

"Heiterkeit" ist schön gesagt. Man versteht nur nicht ganz, warum der Interviewer, wenn er schon mal einem so lebhaften, unprätentiösen Künstler und Intellektuellen gegenübersitzt, in einem Ton ohne jede Modulation und ohne jeden Ansatz zur Empathie leiern muss, als sei gerade sein Meerschweinchen an Heuschnupfen erkrankt ... Arno Widman hat das Interview gerade in der BZ erwähnt, es finden sicher noch andere Leute auf diesem Weg hierhin.

[@hansenzenberger7008]

Oh mein Namensvetter ich werde wild

[@tschacknorris8550]

Servus, Corona-Fellas :D

[@hektor_schmidt]

24:00 Keine Macht den Drogen

[@tschacknorris8550]

Stimme ich zu ^^

[@tenminutestolate]

Der Hans Magnus ist doch immer ein bisschen gewöhnlich. Man hat doch immer ein bisschen das Gefühl mit dem Otto Normalverbraucher zu reden. Wer mir das nicht glaubt, soll mal ein Gespräch mit Peter Handke ansehen. Dann weiß man, was ein Poet ist, .....

[@weiterimtext8134]

Ich verstehe, was Sie meinen. 'Gewöhnlich' weniger, aber 'beliebig'. Für mich - seine Lebensleistung: 'Die andere Bibliothek'