author
Rudolf Kayser
1889–1964
A sharp-eyed German literary historian and editor, he helped shape serious literary discussion in the years around the Weimar era before rebuilding his life in exile. His story also touches the wider intellectual world of the twentieth century through his links to Albert Einstein and the influential publisher S. Fischer.
1 Audiobook
Moses Tod: Legende
by Rudolf Kayser
About the author
Born in Parchim on November 28, 1889, Rudolf Kayser studied literature in Berlin, Munich, and Würzburg, earning a doctorate with work on Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano. Early in his career he taught in Berlin and began publishing essays on literature and culture.
Kayser became closely involved with the S. Fischer publishing house, joining its editorial staff in 1919 and later serving as editor in chief of Die Neue Rundschau, one of the most important German literary journals of its time. He also wrote under the pseudonym Anton Reiser, including a book on Albert Einstein. After the Nazi rise to power in 1933, he lost his posts and left Germany, first for the Netherlands and then for New York.
In exile, he continued his work as a writer and literary scholar. He died in New York City on February 5, 1964. Remembered as a critic, editor, and historian of literature, he stands as one of many European intellectuals whose careers were profoundly reshaped by displacement and exile.