Schönherr, Karl

Schönherr, Karl, b. Axams (Tyrol), Feb. 24, 1867, d. Vienna, March 15, 1943. Writer and physician. Studied philosophy and medicine in Vienna and Innsbruck, where he joined the "Jung-Tirol" movement; worked as a physician in Vienna until 1905. S. at first wrote humorous poems in dialect and tales in the style of L. Anzengruber and later turned to problem plays. His naturalistic dramas and tales are full of symbolic and expressive elements and are characterized by a very strong commitment to his Tyrolean homeland, its dialect and its traditional folkplays. Enjoyed great success with plays such as "Glaube und Heimat" (1910) or "Der Weibsteufel" (1914, made into a film in 1916 as "The She-Devil") as well as with productions at the Tyrolean Exl-Bühne theatre and the Vienna Burgtheater.

Further works: Poems: Inntaler Schnalzer, 1895; Tiroler Marterln, 1895. - Dramas: Der Judas von Tirol, 1897; Die Bildschnitzer, 1900; Karrnerleut, 1905; Familie, 1905 (with the title "Kindertragödie", 1913); Erde, 1907; Der Sonnwendtag, 1913; Volk in Not, 1916; Frau Suitner, 1916; Narrenspiel des Lebens, 1918; Der Kampf, 1920; Es, 1923; Die Hungerblockade, 1925; Der Armendoktor, 1927; Herr Doktor, haben Sie zu essen?, 1930; Passionsspiel, 1933; Die Fahne weht, 1937. - Narratives: Allerhand Kreuzköpf, 1895; Caritas, 1905; Aus meinem Merkbuch, 1911; Schuldbuch, 1913; Tiroler Bauernschwänke, 1913. - Edition: Gesamtausgabe, ed. by V. K. Chiavacci, 3 vols., 1967-1974.

Literature: W. Bortenschlager, Tiroler Drama und Dramatiker im 20. Jahrhundert, 1982.