Thomas Kling
Thomas Kling was a German poet.
Life
Thomas Kling was born in Bingen am Rhein, grew up in Hilden and went to school in Düsseldorf. He studied philology in Cologne, Düsseldorf and Vienna and lived in Finland for a certain period. Since 1983 he presented his poems on public performances – first in Vienna, than in the Rhineland. Later he performed together with the jazz percussionist.Kling lived with his wife Ute Langanky, a painter, on the museum area of Hombroich near Neuss. In 2005 he died in Dormagen of lung cancer. He was buried in Neuss-Holzheim.
Poetry
Thomas Kling was an important poet in contemporary German literature. He was influenced by authors like Friederike Mayröcker, Ernst Jandl, Paul Celan, Hans Carl Artmann and Konrad Bayer. The structure and the layout of his poems were often dominated by the needs of his performances. He was member of the German PEN-centre and of the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung.Awards
- 1986: Förderpreis für Literatur der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf in Northrhine-Westphalia
- 1989: Promotion Prize of Northrhine-Westphalia
- 1990: Rolf Dieter Brinkmann Grant of Cologne
- 1991: Promotion Prize of the arts circle in the Federal Association of German Industry
- 1993: Else Lasker Schüler Prize for Poetry
- 1997: Peter Huchel Prize
- 2001: Ernst Jandl Prize
- 2005: Poetry Prize of the Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf
Works
der zustand vor dem untergang, Düsseldorf 1977erprobung herzstärkender mittel, Düsseldorf 1986geschmacksverstärker, Frankfurt am Main 1989verkehrsfunk, 1989brennstabm, Frankfurt am Main 1991nacht.sicht.gerät, Frankfurt am Main 1993wände machn, Münster 1994morsch, Frankfurt am Main 1996Itinerar, Frankfurt am Main 1997Wolkenstein. MobilisierunEditor
- Friederike Mayröcker: Benachbarte Metalle, Frankfurt am Main 1998
- Sabine Scho: Thomas Kling entdeckt Sabine Scho, Hamburg 2001Sprachspeicher. 200 Gedichte auf deutsch vom achten bis zum zwanzigsten Jahrhundert, Köln 2001
Translations
- Gaius Valerius Catullus: Das Haar der Berenice, Ostfildern vor Stuttgart 1997
Literature
- Heinz-Norbert Jocks: Thomas Kling. Bilderfindungen, Un entretien de Heinz-Norbert Jocks, revised in: Schreibheft. Zeitschrift für Literatur, Edition 96, Essen 2021, p. 146-155.
- Heinz-Norbert Jocks: Bilderfindungen, Ein Gespräch mit Thomas Kling, in: Kunstforum International, Cologne 1998, No. 140, p. 238–253.
- Heinz-Norbert Jocks: Wörter aus dem Vulkan, In: General-Anzeiger, Bonn 1994,23./24. July 1994.
- Heinz-Norbert Jocks: Das Genie, In: Überblick Magazin, Düsseldorf, 1986, Edition 11, November, p. 36–38.
- Heinz-Norbert Jocks: Ein Wahlverwandter der Dadaisten, In: Düsseldorfer Hefte, Düsseldorf, 1986, 1. October 1986, Edition 11, p. 13-14.