Michael Hamburger
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Michael Hamburger OBE (born 22 March, 1924) is a noted British translator, poet, and academic, known in particular for his translations of Friedrich Hölderlin, Paul Celan, and W. G. Sebald from German, and his work as a literary critic.
He was born in Berlin into a Jewish family who left for the UK in 1933, and settled in London. He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford. He was in the British Army from 1943 to 1947. After that he completed his degree, and wrote for a time. He took a position at University College London in 1951, and then at the University of Reading in 1955. There followed many further academic positions in the UK and the USA.
He has published translations of many of the most important German language writers, particularly poets. His work has been recognised by numerous awards, including an OBE in 1992.
The Truth of Poetry (1968) is a major work of criticism. His Collected Poems, 1941-1994 (1995) drew on around twenty collections.
He lives in Suffolk, and appeared as himself as a character in W. G. Sebald's The Rings of Saturn.
References
- A Mug's Game (1973) memoirs to 1954
- Michael Hamburger in Conversation with Peter Dale by Peter Dale (ISBN 0953284115)
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