Rühm, Gerhard#
Ruehm, Gerhard, b. Vienna, Feb. 12, 1930, experimental poet, playwright and prose writer, trained musician (student of J.M. Hauer). From 1964-1975 in Berlin, then Cologne; from 1972 taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg, co-founder of the Wiener Gruppe. As its most radical "concrete poet" R. tried to form a theoretical definition of the position of the Wiener Gruppe, partly by reverting to the avant-garde of expressionism and surrealism (together with H. C. Artmann and K. Bayer); his own works are very heterogeneous, his poetic works containing acoustic and graphical elements, his dramatic works being reminiscent of "happenings". R. influenced the development of a new style of radio play through numerous innovative acoustic works, replacing the conventional distribution of roles with verbal and innovative acoustic sound effects. From 1978 to 1983 president of the Grazer Autorenversammlung; in 1991 awarded the Grand Austrian State Prize for Literature.
Works#
hosn rosn baa, 1959 (with F. Achleitner and H. C. Artmann); konstellationen, 1961; Gesammelte Gedichte und visuelle Texte, 1970; Die Froesche und andere Texte, 1971 (prose); Ophelia und die Woerter, 1972 (collected plays 1954-1971); Super Rekord 50 + 50, 1980; Dialektstuecke, 1982; Reisefieber, 1989; theatertexte, 1990; Geschlechterdings, 1990 (poems); Die Winterreise dahinterweise, 1991 (poems and photo collages); Textall. Ein utopischer Roman, 1993; Auf Messers Schneide, 1995 (plays); Knochenspielzeug. Maerchen, Fabeln und Liebesgeschichten, 1995; Visuelle Poesie, 1996. - Edition: J. Drews (ed.), Um zwoelf Uhr ist es Sommer, 2000. - Editions: Die Wr. Gruppe, 1967; F. R. Behrens, Blutbluete, 1979; K. Bayer.Saemtl. Werke, 2 vols., 1985. - Radio plays, objects, scores, audio tapes.Literature#
K. Schoening (ed.), Hoerspielmacher, 1983; Publikationen des G.-R.-Symposions, in: Protokolle 2, 1987; K. Bartsch (ed.), G. R., 1999.