ART & Thoughts
German Literature
Venus in Furs – Leopold von Sacher Masoch / Lou Reed and more
“Beautiful, free, serene, and happy human beings, such as the Greeks were, are only possible when it is permitted to have slaves who will perform the prosaic tasks of every day for them and above all else labor for them.” “Of course,” she replied playfully, “an Olympian divinity, such as I am, requires a whole army of … Continue reading
Letters to Milena Jesenská : Franz Kafka – Love letters
Meran, May 1920 Dear Frau Milena (yes, this heading is becoming burdensome, although it is something to cling to in this uncertain world, like a crutch for sick people; but it’s no sign of recovery when the crutches grow to be a burden), I have never lived among Germans. German is my mother tongue and … Continue reading
Without You – Erich Fried / Reinfried Marass
Without You Not nothing without you but not the same Not nothing without you but perhaps less Not nothing but less and less Perhaps not nothing without you but not much more Ohne dich Nicht nichts ohne dich aber nicht dasselbe Nicht nichts ohne dich aber vielleicht weniger Nicht nichts aber weniger und weniger Vielleicht … Continue reading
I, eternal child – Egon Schiele Poems / Reinfried Marass
SUN Taste redness, smell lulling white winds, look at it in the universe: sun. Gaze at stars yellow and glittering till you feel good and have to shut out the blinking. Brainworlds sparkle in your caves. Sun — Egon Schiele, Ich ewiges Kind (I, Eternal Child). Gedichte, Vienna/Munich (2) 1985. p. 24 “Bodies have their own … Continue reading
Poppy and Memory – Paul Celan / Edvard Munch
Aus der Hand frißt der Herbst mir sein Blatt: wir sind Freunde, Wir schälen die Zeit aus den Nüssen und lehren sie gehn: die Zeit kehrt zurück in die Schale. Im Spiegel ist Sonntag, im Traum wird geschlafen, der Mund redet wahr. Mein Aug steigt hinab zum Geschlecht der Geliebten; wir sehen uns an, I … Continue reading
Take wings, north wind…Hugo von Hofmannsthal / Reinfried Marass
You are the garden locked, Your childlike hands are waiting, Your lips are without violence. You are the fountain sealed, Life’s frozen threshold, Tart and cold in ignorance. Take wings, north wind, Come, south wind, across the hills, And blow through this grove! Let all fragrances come awake, Let life free itself From sleep’s frozen … Continue reading
Friedrich Hölderlin : Scardanelli
The Hölderlin Tower in Tübingen where the poet spent the last 36 years of his life – Photo Sven Kalbhenn Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (1770 – 1843) was a major German lyric poet, commonly associated with the artistic movement known as Romanticism. Hölderlin was also an important thinker in the development of German Idealism, particularly his early association with and philosophical … Continue reading
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