Alexander Kluge

Kluge was born in Halberstadt on 14 February 1932, the son of a country physician. He studied history, law and church music and in Frankfurt. He received his doctorate in law in 1956. While studying in Frankfurt, Kluge befriended the philosopher Theodor W. Adorno, who was teaching at the Institute for Social Research, or Frankfurt School. Kluge served as a legal counsel for the institute, and began writing his earliest stories during this period. At Adorno's suggestion, he also began to investigate filmmaking, and in 1958, Adorno introduced him to German filmmaker Fritz Lang, for whom Kluge worked as an assistant on the making of The Tiger of Eschnapur. ==Cinematic works==

Kluge directed his first film in 1960, Brutality in Stone, a twelve-minute, black and white, lyrical montage work which, against the German commercial cinematic amnesia of the prior decade, inaugurated an exploration of the Nazi past. The film premiered in 1961 at what would become the showcase for the new generation of German filmmakers, the Westdeutsche Kurzfilmtage in Oberhausen. That same year, with filmmakers Edgar Reitz and Detlev Schleiermacher, Kluge established the Institut für Filmgestaltung at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Ulm, to promote the critical and aesthetic practices of Neuer Deutscher Film and . In 1965 he was a member of the jury at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival. Kluge went on to direct a number of films which have an inherent critique of commercial cinema and television through the creation of a counter-public sphere and their deployment of experimental forms, including montage. His first feature film, Abschied von Gestern (Yesterday Girl) an adaptation of his story "Anita G.", was in 1966 the first film after World War II by a German director to receive the Silver Lion of the Venice Film Festival. Another signature film released in 1985 was Der Angriff der Gegenwart auf die übrige Zeit (The Assault of the Present on the Rest of Time). In 2017, Kluge and his studio are featured in the film Finite and Infinite Games by artist Sarah Morris. The film, which focuses around the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, includes debate between Kluge and Morris on architecture, music, and the religious philosophy of American academic James P. Carse. In 2025, his debut feature film Primitive Diversity was featured in the harbour section of the 54th International Film Festival Rotterdam. ==Television work==

In 1987, Kluge founded the television production company Development Company for Television Program (DCTP), which produces late-night and night-time independent television slots on the private channels RTL Television, Sat.1, and VOX. Many of the DCTP programs consist of television documentaries by Kluge (often characterized by the lack of spoken narration and a heavy reliance upon text as well as graphical montages and image editing) as well as many interviews Kluge led with various international personalities from the fields of arts, entertainment, science, philosophy, and politics. Some of the interviewed are fictitious characters portrayed by professional actors Helge Schneider and Peter Berling, or factual people parodied by the two, including, but not limited to, Adolf Hitler, historical Roman generals, Napoleon's political advisors, or the lawyer of Michael Jackson. Beside Kluge's own productions, DCTP also co-produces so-called Magazinsendungen, which are investigatory programs in cooperation with Der Spiegel (SPIEGEL TV), Stern (''), Süddeutsche Zeitung (Süddeutsche TV), Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ Format''), and the British Broadcasting Corporation. ==Literary works==

Kluge was one of the major German fiction writers of the late 20th century and an important social critic. He was a member of the Group 47 from 1962, In an interview with 032c magazine, Kluge described his point of view on writing with a quote by Georg Büchner: "I've always wanted to see what my head looks like from above." Kluge explains that when "writing literary texts, you look—if you're going about it correctly—down to yourself, to your head from above. Then you no longer have a relationship with yourself. At the most, you have trust in yourself that a text will emerge from this and that you still have the sovereignty and the strength to throw it away if it amounts to nothing." Kluge has used several of his stories as the basis for his films. Kluge's major works of social criticism include Öffentlichkeit und Erfahrung. Zur Organisationsanalyse von bürgerlicher und proletarischer Öffentlichkeit, co-written with Oskar Negt and originally published in 1972, and "Geschichte und Eigensinn", also co-authored with Negt. Öffentlichkeit und Erfahrung has been translated into English as Public Sphere and Experience: Toward an Analysis of the Bourgeois and Proletarian Public Sphere and Geschichte und Eigensinn was translated into English as History and Obstinacy, published in 2014 by Zone Books. Public Sphere and Experience revisits and expands Jürgen Habermas's notion of the public sphere (which he articulated in his book Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere) and calls for the development of a new "proletarian public sphere" grounded in the life experience of the working class. History and Obstinacy continues this project and tries to rethink the very nature of proletarian experience and develops a theory of "living labour" grounded in the work of Karl Marx. Learning Processes with a Deadly Outcome (1973) is one of Kluge's original contributions to the science-fiction genre. In 2000, he published Chronik der Gefühle (Chronicle of Feelings), which critic Matthew D. Miller describes as a "modern epic". From 2016 Kluge collaborated with the American writer Ben Lerner. Their collaborations are collected in The Snows of Venice, published in 2018 by Spector Books. He taught from 1973 as professor at the Frankfurt University, where he also held poetry lectures in 2012. ==Personal life==

Kluge's sister, Alexandra Kluge, was a film actress, who collaborated with him in film work. ==Awards and honours==

from mayor Petra Roth His awards include the (1967), and almost every major German-language literary prize, including the Heinrich von Kleist Prize (1985), the Heinrich-Böll-Preis (1993) and the Schiller Memorial Prize (2001). Kluge received the Hanns-Joachim-Friedrichs-Award for TV Journalism (2001). He has also received the Georg Büchner Prize (2003), Germany's highest literary award. Kluge received the triennial Theodor W. Adorno Award in 2009. In 2010 Kluge was awarded the Grimme-Preis, one of the most important German television awards, in honour of his lifetime achievements. He was awarded the Heinrich Heine Prize in 2014, the in 2019, ==Selected filmography==

Source: • 1966 Yesterday Girl (director and screenwriter) • 1968 Artists Under the Big Top: Perplexed (director, producer and screenwriter) • 1971 The Big Mess (director, producer and screenwriter) • 1973 Part-Time Work of a Domestic Slave (director and screenwriter) • 1974 In Danger and Deep Distress, the Middleway Spells Certain Death (co-director: Edgar Reitz) • 1976 '''' (director, narrator, producer and screenwriter) • 1978 Germany in Autumn (director and screenwriter, along with three other filmmakers) • 1979 '''' (director and producer) • 1980 The Candidate (director) • 1982 Biermann-Film (director) • 1982 War and Peace (director and screenwriter (adapted from his book)) • 1983 The Power of Emotion (director, narrator, producer and screenwriter) • 1985 Vermischte Nachrichten (director, producer and screenwriter) • 1986 The Blind Director (director and screenwriter) • 1989 '''' (producer) • 1995 Die Nacht der Regisseure (actor – as himself (uncredited)) • 2008 Nachrichten aus der ideologischen Antike: Marx – Eisenstein – Das Kapital (director and screenwriter) • 2025 Primitive Diversity (director and producer) ==Selected bibliography==

• Die Universitäts-Selbstverwaltung. Ihre Geschichte und gegenwärtige Rechtsform (1958). (dissertation) • Lebensläufe (1962). Lifespan Narratives. This collection of nine stories includes "Anita G.", which Kluge adapted into the film Yesterday Girl. • First translated as Attendance List for a Funeral: Eleven Stories by Leila Vennewitz (1966); this was later reprinted as Case Histories (1988). Vennewitz's translation does not include "Korti" and includes three additional stories not in the original German collection: "Attendance List for a Funeral", "Sergeant Major Hans Peickert", and "Mandorf". • Vennewitz's translation was expanded to include "Korti" in 2025 by Alexander Booth as Lifespan Narratives: Ten Stories from a Time of Disruption (Chronicle of Emotions, Notebook 3), but does not include "Attendance List for a Funeral" or "Mandorf". • Schlachtbeschreibung (1964). The Battle, trans. Leila Vennewitz (1967). . • Öffentlichkeit und Erfahrung – Zur Organisationsanalyse von bürgerlicher und proletarischer Öffentlichkeit (with Oskar Negt) (1972). Public Sphere and Experience: Analysis of the Bourgeois and Proletarian Public, trans. Peter Labany, Jamie Owen Daniel, and Assenka Oksiloff (Verso Books, 2016). • Lernprozesse mit tödlichem Ausgang (1973). Learning Processes with a Deadly Outcome, trans. Christopher Pavsek (Duke University Press, 1996). • Gelegenheitsarbeit einer Sklavin. Zur realistischen Methode (1975). • Neue Geschichten, Hefte 1–18. "Unheimlichkeit der Zeit" (1977). New Stories, Notebooks 1–18: "The Uncanniness of Time". A collection of several hundred stories, some only one-page long, interspersed with documents, charts and images. • Die Patriotin. Texte/Bilder 1–6 (1979). • Geschichte und Eigensinn (with Oskar Negt) (1981). • History and Obstinacy, trans. Richard Langston, ed. and with an introduction by Devin Fore (Zone Books, 2014). . • Die Macht der Gefühle (1984). The Power of Feelings. • Maßverhältnisse des Politischen (with Oskar Negt) (1992). • Die Wächter des Sarkophags. 10 Jahre Tschernobyl (1996). • In Gefahr und größter Not bringt der Mittelweg den Tod. Texte zu Kino, Film, Politik (1999). • Chronik der Gefühle (2000). Chronicle of Emotions. In two volumes: Basisgeschichten and Lebensläufe. The first volume includes Schlachtbeschreibung (1964), in addition to a large amount of new material. The second volume includes Unheimlichkeit der Zeit (1977); Lernprozesse mit tödlichem Ausgang (1973); and Lebensläufe (1962). • The Long March of Basic Trust (Chronicle of Emotions, Notebook 2), trans. Alexander Booth (Seagull Books, 2025). • Lifespan Narratives: Ten Stories from a Time of Disruption (Chronicle of Emotions, Notebook 3), trans. Leila Vennewitz and Alexander Booth (Seagull Books, 2025). • Der unterschätzte Mensch (with Oskar Negt) (2001). The Undervalued Man. In two volumes. The first book includes: Suchbegriffe (26 conversations and interviews); Öffentlichkeit und Erfahrung; and Maßverhältnisse des Politischen (revised). The second book is Geschichte und Eigensinn. • Verdeckte Ermittlung (2001). • Die Kunst, Unterschiede zu machen (2003). • Die Lücke, die der Teufel lässt. Im Umfeld des neuen Jahrhunderts (2003). ''The Devil's Blind Spot'', trans. Martin Chalmers and Michael Hulse (New Directions, 2004). This collection of 500 stories includes some earlier works; an abridged English-language translation appeared in 2004 containing 173 of the 500 stories. • Vom Nutzen ungelöster Probleme (2003). • Fontane – Kleist – Deutschland – Büchner: Zur Grammatik der Zeit (2004). • Tür an Tür mit einem anderen Leben. 350 neue Geschichten (2006). • Geschichten vom Kino (2007). Cinema Stories, trans. Martin Brady and Helen Hughes (New Directions, 2007). • Der Luftangriff auf Halberstadt am 8. April 1945 (2008). Air Raid, trans. Martin Chalmers (Seagull Books, 2012). • Soll und Haben. Fernsehgespräche (with Joseph Vogl) (2009). • Das Labyrinth der zärtlichen Kraft. 166 Liebesgeschichten (2009). The Labyrinth of Tender Force: 166 Love Stories, trans. Wieland Hoban (Seagull Books, 2019). • Dezember (with Gerhard Richter) (2010). December, trans. Martin Chalmers (Seagull Books, 2012). • Das Bohren harter Bretter. 133 politische Geschichten (2011). Drilling Through Hard Boards: 133 Political Stories, trans. Wieland Hoban (Seagull Books, 2017). • Das fünfte Buch: Neue Lebensläufe. 402 Geschichten (2012). • Personen und Reden (2012). • Die Entsprechung einer Oase. Essay für die digitale Generation (2013). • "Wer ein Wort des Trostes spricht, ist ein Verräter." 48 Geschichten für Fritz Bauer (2013). Anyone Who Utters a Consoling Word Is a Traitor: 48 Stories for Fritz Bauer, trans. Alta L. Price (Seagull Books, 2020). • Nachricht von ruhigen Momenten (with Gerhard Richter) (2013). Dispatches from Moments of Calm, trans. Nathaniel McBride (Seagull Books, 2016). • 30. April 1945 (with Reinhard Jirgl) (2014). ''30 April 1945: The Day Hitler Shot Himself and Germany's Integration with the West Began'', trans. Wieland Hoban and Iain Galbraith (Seagull Books, 2015). • Le Moment fugitif (2014). • Kongs große Stunde. Chronik des Zusammenhangs (2015). ''Kong's Finest Hour: A Chronicle of Connections'' (Seagull Books, 2021). • Ferngespräche. Über Eisenstein, Marx, das Kapital, die Liebe und die Macht der zärtlichen Kraft (with Rainer Stollmann) (2016). • Weltverändernder Zorn: Nachricht von den Gegenfüßlern (with Georg Baselitz) (2017). World-Changing Rage: News of the Antipodeans, trans. Katy Derbyshire (Seagull Books, 2019). • Schnee über Venedig (with Ben Lerner) (2018). The Snows of Venice (2018). • Russland-Kontainer (2020). Russia Container, trans. Alexander Booth (Seagull Books, 2022). • Trotzdem (with Ferdinand von Schirach) (2020). • Senkblei der Geschichten (with Joseph Vogl) (2020). • Zirkus / Kommentar (2022). Circus / Commentary, trans. Alexander Booth (Seagull Books, 2024). • Das Buch der Kommentare. Unruhiger Garten der Seele (2022). The Book of Commentary / Unquiet Garden of the Soul, trans. Alexander Booth (Seagull Books, 2023). • Kriegsfibel 2023 (2023). War Primer, trans. Alexander Booth (Seagull Books, 2024) • Der Konjunktiv der Bilder: Meine virtuelle Kamera (K.I.) (2024). ''The Dragon-Fly's Eye: My Virtual Camera,'' trans. Alexander Booth (Spector Books, 2024). • Klugheit ist die Kunst, unter verschiedenen Umständen getreu zu bleiben, with Anselm Kiefer (2024). Intelligence Is the Art of Remaining Faithful under Shifting Circumstances, trans. Alexander Booth (Seagull Books, forthcoming) Compilations in English • Alexander Kluge: Theoretical Writings, Stories, and an Interview. October, Vol. 46 (1988). • (editor) • Temple of the Scapegoat: Opera Stories (New Directions, 2018) • Difference and Orientation: An Alexander Kluge Reader. Edited by Richard Langston (Cornell University, 2019) ==References==