Bruce Chatwin
Charles Bruce Chatwin ( born May 13, 1940 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire today, England; † January 18, 1989 in Nice ) was a British writer.
Life and work
Chatwin was born in 1940 in Sheffield, UK. During the war, his mother traveled with him to England to see friends and relatives before the German air raids hideout. Instead of beginning the planned architectural studies, he worked 18 years as a messenger boy for the auction house Sotheby's. Four years later he was already director of the Department of impressionistic art. Supposedly because of eye trouble, he gave up this position and traveled to Sudan. He studied in Edinburgh for a year archeology, but the study stopped. In 1973 he joined the staff of the Sunday Times, initially as a consultant for art. Soon after, he devoted himself to a variety of topics, traveled for interviews and reports by the world. In December 1974, he announced there, allegedly with the telegram to the editor: " For four months continued to Patagonia ."
A meeting with the architect and designer Eileen Gray gave the decisive impulse to a six-month trip to Patagonia to seek remains of the Brontosaurus. Here he realized that telling and writing was the appropriate employment for him. He traveled in addition to numerous other countries Australia and grappled with the culture of the Aborigines. Travel books such as In Patagonia and The Songlines became bestsellers. The novels on the Black Mountain and The Viceroy of Ouidah were filmed, the latter. Titled Cobra Verde by the director Werner Herzog with Klaus Kinski in the lead role
Chatwin was married since 1964 with the American Elizabeth Chanler, he knew from Sotheby's. He was bisexual and had affairs with changing some prominent lovers. Bruce Chatwin in 1986 fell ill with AIDS, as a result he died in southern France in 1989. His ashes were interred in the presence of his friend Patrick Leigh Fermor next to a small church in Kardamilli on the Greek Peloponnese peninsula.
Reception and impact
Critics Chatwin lack of understanding of the cultures described, particularly in Australia, and was accused of recklessness. He also inaccuracies and a penchant for free inventions were subordinated. In contrast, Chatwin's laconic style was praised by critics. The readership Chatwin became popular through his sculptural descriptions acting strange environments. His large, articulated with culturally critical tendency enthusiasm for nomadism - he thought of himself as a nomad - fascinated many readers.
Others
Bruce Chatwin used on his many travels always notebooks, which he described as a " carnet Moleskines ". Even today this fact is marketed effective advertising. Chatwin is quoted to the effect that losing his passport was a triviality compared to the catastrophic loss of his notebooks: "To lose a passport which the least of one's worries: to lose a notebook was a catastrophe. "
Prizes and awards
Works
- In Patagonia. Travel report. Jonathan Cape, London 1977, ISBN 0-224-01419-6. In Patagonia. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1981, ISBN 978-3-498-00854-3.
- The Viceroy of Ouidah. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1982, ISBN 3-498-00859-5.
- On the Black Hill. Claassen, Dusseldorf 1983, ISBN 3-546-41796-8.
- Reunion with Patagonia. Hanser, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-446-16480-4.
- Songlines. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1998, ISBN 3-596-10364-9.
- Utz. Hanser, Munich, 1989, ISBN 3-446-15394-2.
- What am I doing here. Hanser, Munich, 1991, ISBN 978-3-446-16014-9.
- When traveling. Hanser, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-446-17549-0.
- The Dream Of The Restless. Hanser, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-446-18739-1.
- Winding paths. Hanser, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-446-19804-0.
The German translations wrote Anna Kamp.