Talk:Michael Huber (writer)
Michael Huber (writer) has been listed as one of the Language and literature good articles under the good article criteria. If you can improve it further, please do so. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can reassess it. | ||||||||||
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A fact from this article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "Did you know?" column on July 11, 2023. The text of the entry was: Did you know ... that Michael Huber's translation of Salomon Gessner's works into French made Gessner the best-known German-language poet in Europe before Goethe? | ||||||||||
Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on September 27, 2023, and September 27, 2024. |
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Did you know nomination
edit- The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.
The result was: promoted by Edge3 (talk) 22:35, 4 July 2023 (UTC)
- ... that Michael Huber's translation of Salomon Gessner's works into French made Gessner the best known German-language poet in Europe before Goethe? Source: Stackelberg 1984: "Über Hubers Übersetzung wurde der Zürcher Idyllendichter zum bekanntesten Dichter deutscher Zunge vor Goethe — und das nicht nur in Frankreich, sondern im ganzen gebildeten, französisch-sprechenden Europa, das Gessner entweder in dieser Sprache oder in Übersetzungen las, die auf Hubers Version fußten.", my own English translation "Via Huber's translation, the Zurich idyllic poet [Gessner] became the most well known poet in the German tongue before Goethe – not only in France, but in the entirety of educated, French-speaking Europe, which read Gessner either in that language or in translations based on Huber's version."
Moved to mainspace by Kusma (talk). Self-nominated at 21:41, 11 May 2023 (UTC). Post-promotion hook changes for this nom will be logged at Template talk:Did you know nominations/Michael Huber (writer); consider watching this nomination, if it is successful, until the hook appears on the Main Page.
- Interesting article on fine sources, offline sources accepted AGF, no copyvio obvious. The hook works for me. How about an infobox? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 17:38, 25 June 2023 (UTC)
- Thank you Gerda! The source is online (with TWL access) here. I generally avoid infoboxes for pre-20th century people who did more than one thing and do not fit neatly into modern categorisation schemes. —Kusma (talk) 20:17, 25 June 2023 (UTC)
Another engraving, possibly better
editBritish Museum, published in Year VII of the Republic, probably 1799: [1]. Engraving by Pierre Alexandre Tardieu after a painting by Anton Graff. —Kusma (talk) 20:58, 12 May 2023 (UTC)
GA Review
editThe following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
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Reviewing |
- This review is transcluded from Talk:Michael Huber (writer)/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.
Reviewer: UndercoverClassicist (talk · contribs) 16:07, 31 May 2023 (UTC)
I can have a look at this. Will do a first read through and post comments before starting on the template. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 16:07, 31 May 2023 (UTC)
- First pass done. In terms of the GA standards, there's a few image-related things, and a couple of points about clarity: in particular, the article sometimes gets difficult to follow where large numbers of characters and ideas are brought in but not introduced or contextualised. A couple of places where material seems to have been more-or-less translated from non-English secondary sources, and so needs some work for WP:CLOP. Most of the rest is more-or-less advisory. Please do get back to me if you think I've been unclear or unfair anywhere. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 18:22, 31 May 2023 (UTC)
- Thank you very much for the detailed review! I probably won't have time to deal with this until Friday evening or the weekend (we currently have family visiting), but I will go through all of your comments carefully as soon as I can. —Kusma (talk) 08:18, 1 June 2023 (UTC)
- We're basically there: anything to which I haven't replied below is almost certainly sorted. I'll try and find a minute later on to formally sort through it all. Thank you for being so amenable to my nit-picks and well done on the article so far. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 06:34, 6 June 2023 (UTC)
- Thank you again for the very thorough review! Even if we don't agree on everything, your perspective and your detailed comments were very helpful in developing this further (it was a relatively quick job to fill a red link at Ludwig Ferdinand Huber, and perhaps I should have polished it more before nominating). —Kusma (talk) 09:40, 6 June 2023 (UTC)
- We're basically there: anything to which I haven't replied below is almost certainly sorted. I'll try and find a minute later on to formally sort through it all. Thank you for being so amenable to my nit-picks and well done on the article so far. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 06:34, 6 June 2023 (UTC)
- Thank you very much for the detailed review! I probably won't have time to deal with this until Friday evening or the weekend (we currently have family visiting), but I will go through all of your comments carefully as soon as I can. —Kusma (talk) 08:18, 1 June 2023 (UTC)
GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)
Resolved comments
editResolved comments
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Leadedit
Translator in Parisedit
Teacher, translator and art expert in Leipzigedit
Final years and legacyedit
Imagesedit
Sourcingedit
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Live comments
editLead
editBorn as an extramarital child
: this sits oddly on two counts. Firstly, it's a bit of an odd idiom: I'm not sure I've seen it in English (is it calqued from German?), where "he was born out of wedlock" would be more common. Secondly, in this more liberated age, it feels odd to draw attention to his illegitimacy in the lead but not to the names of his parents. Did his illegitimacy have any significant impact on his life?- If it sounds off, it is probably calqued from German. I dropped the illegitimacy from the lead; I don't think it is super important for what modern scholarly sources are interested in. It is a bit surprising that he became what he became despite his background. Knöpfler 1928 speculates that Huber might have had a noble father, but I think other than not wanting to believe that a bastard farmboy would move to Paris and become highly cultured there is no basis for this at all (so I don't mention this).
- Yes, it sounds like this angle ("rags to riches"?) is there in the sources: there might be room to push it a little more in the artlcle. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 09:46, 3 June 2023 (UTC)
- We just don't know anything about the cultural "rags". And I'm really bad at sensationalising things (I can make the juiciest stories sound boring; see terrible hooks at Template:Did you know nominations/Eliza Stephens). —Kusma (talk) 21:03, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- Yes, it sounds like this angle ("rags to riches"?) is there in the sources: there might be room to push it a little more in the artlcle. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 09:46, 3 June 2023 (UTC)
- If it sounds off, it is probably calqued from German. I dropped the illegitimacy from the lead; I don't think it is super important for what modern scholarly sources are interested in. It is a bit surprising that he became what he became despite his background. Knöpfler 1928 speculates that Huber might have had a noble father, but I think other than not wanting to believe that a bastard farmboy would move to Paris and become highly cultured there is no basis for this at all (so I don't mention this).
Early life
editit is assumed he worked as a language teacher and that his financial situation was unstable
: do the sources say anything as to why they assume this?- Not really. Espagne notes that Huber was about to get a job at a military school in 1763, and says "Von Sprachstunden und gelegentlichen literarischen Übersetzungen ließ sich freilich eine Familie schlecht ernähren" ('From language lessons and occasional literary translations it was certainly difficult to feed a family'). Jordan makes some assumptions about the likely difficulties caused by illegitimacy and concludes "Apparently, he turned up in Paris around 1750 when he emerged, after initial struggles and deprivations, as a respected member of the intellectual community".
- It does sound like at least Espagne thinks they're doing more than just assuming that Huber didn't have money: see "rags to riches" comment above. I very much respect your approach in not simply parroting what might be unsubstantiated material in the sources, though: it's often very tempting to do the opposite! UndercoverClassicist (talk) 19:37, 3 June 2023 (UTC)
- I have added a sentence about Huber mentioning that his early life was difficult (a side remark in a letter to a friend in Paris, where he hopes a young man from Saxony who goes to Paris will have an easier life than he did). —Kusma (talk) 21:03, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
Teacher, translator and art expert in Leipzig
editHuber had a collection of copper engravings and used it for teaching; the young Goethe was one of his students.
: was Huber still a (sort-of) professor of French at this point? I'd suggest splitting these sentences: the semicolon implies that there's some logical connection between his having an engraving collection and his teaching of Goethe, which isn't obviously the case.- I think Goethe learned art from him, not French, but I am not absolutely certain.
- When the article says that Huber "became an art historian", does that mean that he took up a teaching post in art history? If so, I'd suggest putting the Goethe comment immediately there, rather than after the engravings. It sounds like this might be a slightly murky area. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 12:39, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- I have seen no indication that he had a teaching post as an art teacher; as I understand it, this was more or less private tuition. Goethe also learned about art from the father of LFH's later fiancee Dora Stock, who was not affiliated with the university at all. —Kusma (talk) 13:33, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- OK: again, sounds murky, but also sounds like we're at the edge of what we have the sources to say .UndercoverClassicist (talk) 13:42, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- Clarified a bit after checking what Heiss says about this. —Kusma (talk) 21:03, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- OK: again, sounds murky, but also sounds like we're at the edge of what we have the sources to say .UndercoverClassicist (talk) 13:42, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- I have seen no indication that he had a teaching post as an art teacher; as I understand it, this was more or less private tuition. Goethe also learned about art from the father of LFH's later fiancee Dora Stock, who was not affiliated with the university at all. —Kusma (talk) 13:33, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- When the article says that Huber "became an art historian", does that mean that he took up a teaching post in art history? If so, I'd suggest putting the Goethe comment immediately there, rather than after the engravings. It sounds like this might be a slightly murky area. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 12:39, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- I think Goethe learned art from him, not French, but I am not absolutely certain.
A general theory of art was included in the work
: can we say any more about what Huber's general theory of art was?- Added a bit of what the source says, but I am very much out of my field here.
- The first bit works well, but I'm now unsure when reading
reflected on the principles of the collection
as to precisely which "collection" is meant here. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 12:39, 4 June 2023 (UTC)- It was ambiguous in my source, but after looking at the original text, I have clarified this. —Kusma (talk) 13:33, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- The first bit works well, but I'm now unsure when reading
- Added a bit of what the source says, but I am very much out of my field here.
Final years and legacy
editHuber was an important mediator between German and French literary circles
: this is a little abstract: I'm not sure what it means in more concrete terms. The sentence also seems to be cited to his daughter-in-law's letters: should this be to an essay or introduction in the same volume?- Tried to clarify. This is from the editorial material, which doesn't have a defined author. Compromised by using the
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parameter.- The word mediator in this context is giving me pause: you can talk about how someone's work mediates between e.g. French and German literature, but to call someone a mediator really implies that they were some kind of diplomatic or other negotiator. Perhaps it's worth translating "Editorischer Bericht"? Separately, I think the usual way to cite e.g. an introduction to a writer's work is to treat it like a separate chapter in a volume: so to cite this one as "Bergmann-Törner et al 2020", using contribution=Editorischer Bericht, contributor-last=Bergmann-Törner, and so on. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 12:39, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- Done the citations. I don't really have a better translation for "Vermittler" than "mediator", though. I could go for "facilitator of cultural exchange", but really, he was among those doing the cultural exchange, not only facilitating it. Is "cultural mediator" acceptable as it sounds less like diplomacy? —Kusma (talk) 21:03, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- A thought: could we simplify to
Huber was a significant figure in introducing German literature to France
? The "cultural mediator" bit still reads as unclear or stilted, and I'm not sure it really does much more than introduce the substantive point made in the second clause. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 06:25, 6 June 2023 (UTC)- He also played a (less significant) part in the other direction (although his son did quite a bit more in translating from French). I don't want him to sound just like an evangelist of German to the French. —Kusma (talk) 09:36, 6 June 2023 (UTC)
- As ever, very sensible. I think, at this point, we're into minor details: there might be a way to improve it further, but we're talking about something far in excess of the GA criteria: I'll drop this one for now. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 12:16, 6 June 2023 (UTC)
- He also played a (less significant) part in the other direction (although his son did quite a bit more in translating from French). I don't want him to sound just like an evangelist of German to the French. —Kusma (talk) 09:36, 6 June 2023 (UTC)
- A thought: could we simplify to
- Done the citations. I don't really have a better translation for "Vermittler" than "mediator", though. I could go for "facilitator of cultural exchange", but really, he was among those doing the cultural exchange, not only facilitating it. Is "cultural mediator" acceptable as it sounds less like diplomacy? —Kusma (talk) 21:03, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- The word mediator in this context is giving me pause: you can talk about how someone's work mediates between e.g. French and German literature, but to call someone a mediator really implies that they were some kind of diplomatic or other negotiator. Perhaps it's worth translating "Editorischer Bericht"? Separately, I think the usual way to cite e.g. an introduction to a writer's work is to treat it like a separate chapter in a volume: so to cite this one as "Bergmann-Törner et al 2020", using contribution=Editorischer Bericht, contributor-last=Bergmann-Törner, and so on. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 12:39, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- Tried to clarify. This is from the editorial material, which doesn't have a defined author. Compromised by using the
He has been described as a precursor of German literary scholarship.
: precursor means someone or something that goes before something: since he wrote German literary scholarship, this is almost certainly not the right word.- I think the thought here is that there was no proper scholarship of German before the Brothers Grimm...
- So could we say "one of the first writers of..."? UndercoverClassicist (talk) 12:39, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- The source says "H. gehört mit diesen Arbeiten [..] zu den historisch-theoretisch orientierten Vorläufern der deutschen Literaturgeschichtsschreibung", 'With these works, H. belongs to the historically-theoretically oriented predecessors of German literary history scholarship". I would like to avoid making claims about the origins of Germanistik; that article mentions Georg Friedrich Benecke (1762–1844) as one of the first teachers at university level, but anything I could say would need too many qualifiers. —Kusma (talk) 13:33, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- As I read that in my very dodgy German, Vorläufern means that the author thinks he is not part of German literary-historical scholarship (Literaturgeschichtsschreibung): is that fair? If so, I think we're again in a murky area but probably as far through it as the sources will allow us to go. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 13:44, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- Yes, he is not part of Literaturgeschichsschreibung proper in the author's view. —Kusma (talk) 21:03, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- As I read that in my very dodgy German, Vorläufern means that the author thinks he is not part of German literary-historical scholarship (Literaturgeschichtsschreibung): is that fair? If so, I think we're again in a murky area but probably as far through it as the sources will allow us to go. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 13:44, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- The source says "H. gehört mit diesen Arbeiten [..] zu den historisch-theoretisch orientierten Vorläufern der deutschen Literaturgeschichtsschreibung", 'With these works, H. belongs to the historically-theoretically oriented predecessors of German literary history scholarship". I would like to avoid making claims about the origins of Germanistik; that article mentions Georg Friedrich Benecke (1762–1844) as one of the first teachers at university level, but anything I could say would need too many qualifiers. —Kusma (talk) 13:33, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- So could we say "one of the first writers of..."? UndercoverClassicist (talk) 12:39, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- I think the thought here is that there was no proper scholarship of German before the Brothers Grimm...
Images
edit- All check out now. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 14:35, 3 June 2023 (UTC)
References and spot-checks
edit- Optional for GA, but there's inconsistencies as to whether ISBNs, OCLCs etc are included (in general, I wouldn't bother with an OCLC or OL if an ISBN exists), and the ISBNS aren't formatted consistently.
- I have added an OCLC and formatted one ISBN, and I think it is good enough.
- Perhaps related to the comment about "uncivilised" Germans further up, the French source text
Par cette anthologie, Huber se propose de combattre le préjugé d’une culture barbare ... [et] affirmer la dignité de la poésie allemande
is pretty close to the article'sHuber attempted to overcome French prejudices against an uncivilised German culture by showing the dignity of German poetry.
A good rephrase here would sort both the earlier issue and the WP:CLOP concern.- Better now?
- Honestly, the sentence structure is still recognisably the same, though each individual part is rephrased. How about something like
Huber attempted to use this anthology to demonstrate what Buffet has called the "dignity" of German poetry, often the butt of French prejudices which saw German culture as "barbaric".
?- No more "dignity"; I hope this is now unrecognisable. —Kusma (talk) 21:03, 4 June 2023 (UTC)
- Honestly, the sentence structure is still recognisably the same, though each individual part is rephrased. How about something like
- Fine from a CLOP point of view. Are "high aspirations" quite the same as "dignity", though? Aspiring to something (dignity/status/grandeur, here) means, by definition, that you don't have it. This isn't perfect, but perhaps something like "tried to assert that German poetry sufficiently elevated and dignified to stand among the European canon"? UndercoverClassicist (talk) 06:28, 6 June 2023 (UTC)
- I do think it comes from a feeling of German culture being a bit behind. The "aspirations" are my interpretation of the top of Buffet p. 209, right after he explains what Huber means when he quotes "Germans can also raise onto Parnassus". —Kusma (talk) 09:32, 6 June 2023 (UTC)
- Happy with that: as above, certainly a minor detail for which it would be foolish to hold up the review. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 12:16, 6 June 2023 (UTC)
- I do think it comes from a feeling of German culture being a bit behind. The "aspirations" are my interpretation of the top of Buffet p. 209, right after he explains what Huber means when he quotes "Germans can also raise onto Parnassus". —Kusma (talk) 09:32, 6 June 2023 (UTC)
- Better now?
- I've checked out a sample of the references: slow going for me in German, but everything I've found checks out for WP:TSI.
- Thank you for putting so much effort into this review!
Review template
edit- It is reasonably well written.
- It is factually accurate and verifiable.
- a. (reference section):
- b. (citations to reliable sources):
- c. (OR):
- d. (copyvio and plagiarism):
- a. (reference section):
- It is broad in its coverage.
- a. (major aspects):
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- a. (major aspects):
- It follows the neutral point of view policy.
- Fair representation without bias:
- Fair representation without bias:
- It is stable.
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- It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.
- a. (images are tagged and non-free content have non-free use rationales):
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- Overall:
- Pass/fail:
- A lovely article that has done a good job of navigating some tricky elisions and ambiguities in the available sources. UndercoverClassicist (talk) 12:21, 6 June 2023 (UTC)
- Pass/fail:
(Criteria marked are unassessed)