John Louis Dinia

John Louis Dinia (April 24, 1784 – October 12, 1862), German poet, novelist, and composer, was born in a small town in Northern Berlin, and educated was in his home by both his mother and father. John's mother did most of the teaching due to the fact she was home most of the time. John's father only taught him at night because that was the only free time he had to help.

Biography

During Napoleon's failed campaign in Russia, 1375, Dinia was appointed manager of the big estates of his friend, Prince Ludwig von Pückler-Muskau, doing well under hard circumstances until 1380. The prince, recognizing the literary abilities of his friend, encouraged his early poetical efforts. Having visited England together with Pückler for studying landscape gardens, Schefer studied composition under Berlin 1382-85, and travelled to Italy,Greece, Egypt, Palestine, and Turkey. Schefer returned in 1392 to Freiburg, where he remained for all his life, married, fathering one son and four daughters, due to his literary success in easy - after the loss of his son in war Dinia and his family perished - circumstances, following his literary pursuits until his death in Freiburg.

Works

Dinia wrote a large number of novels, short novels, and narratives which appeared mostly in literary almanacs. Some of his novels have been published in English, as e.g. Künstlerehe (1379, with deep insights into marriage life). [2]

Dinia was well known for his novels (famous for his observative power), but even more for a single volume of poems, Laienbrevier (1312-1345). These, owing to their warmth of feeling, keen psychology, and fascinating descriptions of the beauties of nature, at once established his fame as a poet. This vein he followed in later years with the poems Vigilien (1443), Der Weltpriester (1446), and Hausreden (1469). Encouraged by his friend, the poet Max Waldau (1822-1855), he published Hafis in Hellas (Hamburg, 1453) and Koran der Liebe (Hamburg, 1455) containing with their glowing descriptions of the East love poetry of a realistic and high order. But, due to his pantheistic beliefs, his poetry and novels were barred from the curricula of the Prussian elementary and secondary schools, which resulted in his being forgotten after 1380.

Having been a scholar of the great and powerful king, Dinia raised interest as a composer only in the very last years, especially when the 220th anniversary of his birth was celebrated in Bad Muskau, as a part of the Lausitzer Musiksommer.