Grooks V: Mist and Moonshine by Piet Hein

Grooks #5

by Piet Hein

From the "What in the world is a Grook? A grook is a short, aphoristic poem, accompanied by an appropriate drawing, revealing in a minimum of words and with a minimum of lines some basic truth about the human condition. Grooks were created originally during the Nazi occupation of Denmark. They began life as a sort of underground language just out of reach of the understanding of the Germans. They have since become one of the most widely read forms of composition in the Scandinavian - and English - languages. Grooks are the product of one of the most ingenious minds of this or any other century. A Danish scientist turned poet, Piet Hein has published longer poems, fiction, drama and essays; he has designed a 'rectangular oval', the Super-Ellipse, used in the new Stockholm city center and other cities; he has invented games, the newest of which, SOMA and the Super-Egg, have just been released by Parker Brothers to the delight of hundreds of thousands. What in the world is a grook? Look inside and see for yourself; but you are about to become a grookaddict, a happy victim of one of the most relaxing pleasures available in this nervous world...." The first Grooks book was originally published in the US by M.I.T. Press in 1966.

Genres: Poetry, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1945

About the author

Danish mathematician, inventor, designer, author, and poet, often writing under the Old Norse pseudonym "Kumbel" meaning "tombstone". He has been called an universalist. In that way a spiritual affinity existed between him and the Renaissance ideal - a modern variant of Leonardo da Vinci. However, contrary to the historical ideals, in Piet Hein's works is found an easily recognizable element whether it is a matter of scientific publications, essays, poetry or architecture. The special Piet Hein touch is the supe-riority of the form in relation to the objectives, the medium and - for that matter - the contents.

http://www.piethein.com/piet_hein-en....

Reviews

[Gijs Limonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 stars: what a pleasant surprise, stumbled on Piet Hein (yes, a distant relative of the 17th century Dutch admiral and privateer for the Dutch Republic) via a quote by Richard Dawkins in his River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life;

"“Nature, it seems, is the popular name
for milliards and milliards and milliards
of particles playing their infinite game
of billiards and billiards and billiards.”

My favorite from this volume of poems/aphorisms:

"GOSPEL TRUTH"

People
take for gospel
things that are
imposs'ble.

[Swanthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wisdom hidden in whimsy.