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Selected Poems and ProseGottfried BennEdited by David PaiseyTranslated by David Paisey
Categories: 21st Century, German, Translation, War writings
Imprint: Fyfield Books Publisher: Carcanet Press Available as: Paperback (280 pages) (Pub. Nov 2013) 9781847771506 £19.95 £17.95 eBook (EPUB) Needs ADE! (Pub. Nov 2013) 9781847775092 £19.95 £17.95 To use the EPUB version, you will need to have Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) installed on your device. You can find out more at https://www.adobe.com/uk/solutions/ebook/digital-editions.html. Please do not purchase this version if you do not have and are not prepared to install, Adobe Digital Editions.
‘A Word’
A word, a sentence – out of ciphers climb life untangled, sudden sense, the sun stands still, the spheres quieten, all things about that point condense. A word – a flash, a fire, flamethrower, flight, a shooting star of pain – then dark inexorably taking over in space, the world and self again.
Gottfried Benn ranks among the most significant German poets of the twentieth century. His early work, with its shockingly graphic depictions of human suffering and degradation, was associated with the Expressionist movement; the overriding theme of his later work was the isolation and fragmentation of the human being adrift in a nihilistic world.
David Paisey here presents two selections, of verse and prose respectively, from Benn’s large oeuvre, ordered chronologically to enable readers to perceive the developments of Benn’s art and thought. In an important biographical introduction, Paisey tackles the difficult question of Benn’s compliance with the Nazi regime and its impact on his life and work. Translator’s Preface Biographical Introduction POEMS Finish / Schluss Schöne Jugend / Nice childhood Kreislauf / Circulation Blinddarm / Appendix Mann und Frau gehn durch die Krebsbaracke / Man and woman walk through the cancer shed D-Zug / Express Nachtcafé / Night café Gesänge / Songs Da fiel uns Ikarus vor die Füße / Then Icarus Untergrundbahn / Underground train Englisches Café / English café Drohungen / Threats Schnellzug / Express-train Räuber-Schiller / Robbers-Schiller Hier ist kein Trost / No comfort here Nachtcafé IV / Night café IV O Nacht / O night Karyatide / Caryatid Durchs Erlenholz kam sie entlang gestrichen / Through the alder wood it was making its way Reise / Journey Der Arzt / The doctor Pappel / Poplar Kokain / Cocaine Synthese / Synthesis Das Instrument / The instrument Marie / Marie Curettage / Curettage Schutt / Rubble Palau / Palau Trunkene Flut / Drunken flood Das späte Ich / The later I Staatsbibliothek / State Library Nebel / Mists Die Dänin / The Danish girl Der Sänger / The singer Banane / Banana Schädelstätten / Golgothas Theogonien / Theogonies Wer bist du / Who are you Schleierkraut / Gypsophila Osterinsel / Easter Island Orphische Zellen / Orphic cells Qui sait / Qui sait Sieh die Sterne, die Fänge / Behold the stars Was singst du denn / What are you singing? Aus Fernen, aus Reichen / From distances, from kingdoms Immer schweigender / Ever more silently Primäre Tage / Primal days Zwei Auszüge aus dem Oratorium ‘Das Unaufhörliche’. Musik von Paul Hindemith. I Lied, II Knabenchor / Two extracts from the oratorio ‘The unceasing’. Music by Paul Hindemith. I Song, II Choirs of men and boys Dennoch die Schwerter halten / Hold the swords in defiance Am Brückenwehr / On the bridge Valse triste / Valse triste Tag, der den Sommer endet / Day, when summer ended Auf deine Lider senk ich Schlummer / I give your lids the gift of slumber Das Ganze / The whole Turin / Turin (I) Am Saum des nordischen Meers / On the edge of the Baltic Sea Einsamer nie / The loneliest time Wer allein ist / He who’s alone Die Gefährten / The companions Du trägst / You bear So still / So tranquil Wenn dir am Ende der Reise / If at your journey’s limit Dann gliederten sich die Laute / Then the sounds created a structure Wer Wiederkehr in Träumen weiss / He who dreams the dead recur Monolog / Monologue Gedichte / Poems Verse / Verses Ein Wort / A word Abschied / Departure Verlorenes Ich / Lost I Nachzeichnung / A drawing after Welle der Nacht / Wave of the night V. Jahrhundert / Fifth century September / September Ach, das ferne Land / Ah, the distant land Chopin / Chopin Überblickt man die Jahre – / If you survey tradition Statische Gedichte / Static poems Orpheus’ Tod / The death of Orpheus Gewisse Lebensabende / Certain evenings of life Kleines süßes Gesicht / Sweet little face Du liegst und schweigst und träumst der Stunde nach / You lie in silence Acheron / Acheron Berlin / Berlin Radar / Radar Notturno / Notturno Der Dunkle / The dark one Restaurant / Restaurant Was meinte Luther mit dem Apfelbaum? / What did Luther mean by the apple tree? Künstlermoral / Artistic ethics Reisen / Journeys Spät / Late Du übersiehst dich nicht mehr / What does your retrospect lack? Satzbau / Sentence-construction Verhülle dich / Muffle yourself Wir ziehn einen großen Bogen / We draw a great arc Die Gitter / The barriers Verzweiflung III / Despair III März. Brief nach Meran / March: letter to Meran An – / To – Nimm fort die Amarylle / Away with the amaryllis Eingeengt / Hemmed in Auferlegt / Laid on us Was schlimm ist / What’s bad Bar / Bar Nur zwei Dinge / Only two things Melancholie / Melancholy In einer Nacht / In a night Tristesse / Tristesse »Abschluss« / “Closure” Kommt / Come Worte / Words Gedicht / Poem Aprèslude / Aprèslude Herr Wehner / Herr Wehner Kann keine Trauer sein / Can be no mourning Wie sehn die Buchen im September aus / How do the beeches look Von Bremens Schwesterstadt / From Bremerhaven Epilog 1949 / Epilogue 1949 PROSE Brains (Gehirne) The birthday (Der Geburtstag) Diesterweg (Diesterweg) The garden of Arles (Der Garten von Arles) an extract from The modern self (Das moderne Ich) extracts from Lyric self (Lyrisches Ich) How Miss Cavell was shot (Wie Miss Cavell erschossen wurde) Primal vision (Urgesicht) an extract from On the problems of being a poet (Zur Problematik des Dichterischen) an extract from After nihilism (Nach dem Nihilismus) extracts from Speech to the Prussian Academy of Arts, 5 April 1932 (Akademierede) Eugenics I (Züchtung I) Extracts from Expressionism (Der Expressionismus) extracts from Mind and soul of future generations (Geist und Seele künftiger Geschlechter) an extract from The people and the writer (Das Volk und der Dichter) Doric world (Dorische Welt) an extract from Writing needs inner latitude (Die Dichtung braucht inneren Spielraum) an extract from Pallas (Pallas) extracts from On the theme of history (Zum Thema Geschichte) three extracts from The phenotype’s novel (Roman des Phänotyp) an extract from Marginalia (Marginalien) extracts from Double life (Doppelleben) extracts from Problems of lyric poetry (Probleme der Lyrik) extract from Speech in Darmstadt, 21 October 1951 (Rede in Darmstadt) extracts from Speech in Knokke (Rede in Knokke) an extract from Should poetry improve life? (Soll die Dichtung das Leben bessern?) Index of Poem Titles and First Lines (English) Index of Poem Titles and First Lines (German)
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