73. Max Ring

On his eightieth birthday

The novelist and playwright Max Ring celebrated his eightieth birthday on August 4. He looks back on a full and busy life, which he describes in his “Memoirs”, which will be published this fall. Parts of it have appeared in Karl Emil Franzos' “German Poetry”. They are interesting because Ring came into contact with a large number of outstanding contemporaries. He was close to many of those who were creatively active in Germany's cultural work. He describes individual traits of the personalities with whom he was friends in an appealing way. He describes with warmth and from the point of view of a comfortable, cheerful view of life. This view can also be seen in his stories and dramas. The background is almost always a cultural-historical one. In earlier years, he was not without a far-reaching influence on broader sections of the population. His descriptions of Berlin's intellectual life and the city's historical development are well worth reading. He knows the Berlin character and knows how to portray it in a charming way. His profession as a doctor has made him familiar with many characteristic aspects of the people and has instilled in him the pedagogical tendency that we encounter in his novels. Max Ring is not called the storyteller of the German bourgeoisie for nothing. He also took part in the social endeavors of his time; he supported the reform efforts of Schulze-Delitzsch.