- Hans Leybold
Hans Leybold (
2 April 1892 -8 September 1914 ) was a German poet andnihilist , whose small body of work was a major inspiration behind much of theDada movement, in particular the works of his close friendHugo Ball . Although Leybold died two years before the emergence of Dada, hisabsurdist writings and poems represent an important stage in the development ofexpressionist movement inGermany .Born into a middle-class family in
Frankfurt am Main , Leybold was raised inHamburg where he completed his schooling in 1911 and joined theGerman Army . In his compulsory year of conscription he impressed his superior officers so much he was offered a commission and embarked on a military career. P.149-150, "The Lost Voices of World War I", Cross ] Taking a leave of absence to attend university, Leybold traveled toMunich to study German literature and whilst there he fell in with the crowd of German poets and authors who would head the Dada movement post-war. These figures includedRichard Huelsenbeck ,Emmy Hennings ,Klabund ,Johannes R. Becher and most especially of all his particular friendHugo Ball . It was Ball who interested Leybold in the expressionist movement and soon the two of them were soon producing poetry together under the pseudonym "Ha Hu Baley". In the company of these authors, Leybold experimented wildly with technique and imagery in his poetry, seeking both to develop his skills and in the process deconstruct poetry itself, heavily influenced byAlfred Kerr andFriedrich Nietzsche . In consequence of his literary experimentation, his studies went neglected and he began to edit and contribute to expressionist magazines, such as "Die Aktion " and his own work, the short lived magazine "Revolution", in which and his colleagues issued their literary manifesto.In August 1914 the
First World War erupted and Leybold was immediately called up as an active reservist. Less than a month later, Leybold was seriously wounded during operations near Namur and was evacuated to a casualty clearing hospital. He recovered rapidly from his wound but on the8 September , the night he returned to his regiment, hecommitted suicide by gunshot to the head. His death was never fully explained, although a rumour persisted that he hadsyphilis and had given up on survival following his wound. His works were collected together many years after his death, as he never had a book published independently, and he is now recognised as an important influence both on Dadism and German expressionism itself.Notes
References
*Cross, Tim, "The Lost Voices of World War I", Bloomsbury Publishing, Great Britain: 1988. ISBN 0-7475-4276-7
Persondata
NAME=Leybold, Hans
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= German nihilist poet
DATE OF BIRTH=2 April 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH=Frankfurt am Main
DATE OF DEATH=8 September 1914
PLACE OF DEATH=France
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