Michael Hamburger: 1924–2007

Michael Hamburger, OBE, was a noted British poet, translator and academic, and a key figure in English and European letters for over 60 years. He was known in particular for his translations of Friedrich Hölderlin, Paul Celan, Günter Grass, and W. G. Sebald from the German, and for his work as a literary critic. Born in Berlin, his family left for the UK in 1933 and eventually settled in London. He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, and served in the British Army during and immediately after World War II. After completing his degree and working as a freelance writer, he took a position at University College London in 1951, and then at the University of Reading in 1955. During this time he associated some of the leading literary figures of the time, and there followed many further academic positions in the UK and America.

Hamburger translated many of the most important German language writers, both in prose and in poetry. His work was recognised by numerous awards, including two Schlegel-Tieck Prizes (1978 and 1981), the Goethe Medal (1986), the Hölderlin Prize (1991), and the Petrarca Prize (1990), and he was awarded an OBE in 1992. His major works of criticism include The Truth of Poetry (1968), and two comprehensive books of essays on German Literature: A Proliferation of Prophets (1983) and After the Second Flood (1986). In addition, he had many books of his own poetry published, including Collected Poems, 1941-1994 (1995), Intersections (2000), and Circling the Square (2007). His translations of the poems of Paul Celan were reissued in 2007 by Anvil Press, and he lived in Suffolk until his death in June 2007.

Recent books:

Poems of Paul Celan (Anvil: 2007)
Circling the Stone (Anvil: 2007)
Wild and Wounded (Anvil: 2004)
The Truth of Poetry (Anvil: 2004)
Philip Larkin (Enitharmon: 2002)
Intersections (Anvil: 2000)