The magic bishop: Hugo Ball, Dada poet

Abstract

Hugo Ball (1886-1927), poet, musician, dancer, impresario, philosopher, was one of the brilliant literary figures of the early twentieth century. Working with some of the great artists of his time, including Kandinsky, von Laban, Tzara, and Hans Arp, he was at the cutting edge of modern thought as theatre director, Dada agitator and leading member of the luminous Berne circle. This study takes a new look at Ball, providing above all a close reading of his texts, and focussing on works which are seen as open-ended or given to inventing their own form, including Tenderenda der Phantast, his abstract poem cycle 'Gadji beri bimba', and Simultan Krippenspiel, a 'noise concert' or opera, which enthralled his audience the night of May 31, 1916. The book deals first with Ball's education as an artist and with the important figures in his life, notably Max Reinhardt, Frank Wedekind, and Vassily Kandinsky, whose theoretical stance he came in part to adopt. Subsequent chapters examine his theatre work as actor, playwright, critic and dramaturge, comprising his years of apprenticeship in Berlin, Plauen and Munich.