Johann Karl Wezel

Johann Karl Wezel

Copper engraving by Christian Gottlieb Geyser
Born (1747-10-31)October 31, 1747
Sondershausen, Germany
Died January 28, 1819(1819-01-28) (aged 71)
Sondershausen, Germany
Occupation writer
Nationality German
Literary movement Enlightenment
Notable works Belphegor

Johann Karl Wezel (October 31, 1747 in Sondershausen, Germany – January 28, 1819 in Sondershausen), also Johann Carl Wezel, was a German poet, novelist and philosopher of the Enlightenment.

Life

Born the son of domestic servants, Wezel studied Theology, Law, Philosophy and Philology at the University of Leipzig.[1] Early philosophical influences include John Locke and Julien Offray de La Mettrie.[2] After positions as tutor at the courts of Bautzen and Berlin, Wezel lived as a freelance writer. A short stay in Vienna did not result in him getting employed by the local national theater. He thus moved back to Leipzig and, in 1793, to Sondershausen, which he did not leave again until his death in 1819.[1]

Although his works were extremely successful when they were published, Wezel was almost forgotten when he died.[3] His rediscovery in the second half of the 20th century is mainly due to German author Arno Schmidt who published a radio essay about him in 1959.[4]

Works

References

  1. 1 2 Meid, Volker: Reclams Lexikon der deutschsprachigen Autoren, Stuttgart 2001
  2. ↑ Klingenberg, Anneliese: Afterword in Wezel, Lebensgeschichte Tobias Knauts, Berlin and Weimar 1990
  3. ↑ Biography on the website of the Wezel Society Sondershausen
  4. ↑ Prütting, Lenz: Bibliographical note to Wezel, Belphegor, Frankfurt am Main 1984

External links

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