Hours in the Garden and Other Poems

by Hermann Hesse, Rika Lesser (Translator)

Written during the same period as The Glass Bead Game, these poems reflect the book's mysticism and help to illuminate Hesse's physical and metaphysical search for a "sublime alchemy" that would go beyond all images

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, German Literature

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

Many works, including Siddhartha (1922) and Steppenwolf (1927), of German-born Swiss writer Hermann Hesse concern the struggle of the individual to find wholeness and meaning in life; he won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1946.

Other best-known works of this poet, novelist, and painter include The Glass Bead Game , which, also known as Magister Ludi, explore a search of an individual for spirituality outside society.

In his time, Hesse was a popular and influential author in the German-speaking world; worldwide fame only came later. Young Germans desiring a different and more "natural" way of life at the time of great economic and technological progress in the country, received enthusiastically Peter Camenzind , first great novel of Hesse.

Throughout Germany, people named many schools. In 1964, people founded the Calwer Hermann-Hesse-Preis, awarded biennially, alternately to a German-language literary journal or to the translator of work of Hesse to a foreign language. The city of Karlsruhe, Germany, also associates a Hermann Hesse prize.

Reviews

[Martyna Antonina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Klasyczne, aforystyczne wiersze, tchnące typową dla Hessego dwoistością mentalności człowieka. Trochę żałuję, że poza wyjściem naprzeciw układności umysłu autor nie próbuje przeciwstawić się także jednolitemu rozumieniu poezji; czasem zbyt naiwnej, innym razem wchodzącej w ton moralizmu - ale przy tym intymnie wrażliwej, więc chociażby za to należy jej się odrobina wyrozumiałości.

[Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone that has read any of Hesse’s novels knows that the theme of loneliness is one of his favorite one and this collection of some of his poems reflect just that. It is often said that a poem is the shortest novel and that is certainly true regarding some of Hesse’s poems. He reaches the soul of the reader in less than twenty verses and delivers a powerful message once there.

[Rene Ijzermans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Een prachtige uitgave, verfraaid met aquarellen van Hesse's buurman Böhmer. Helaas blijft het daar wat mij betreft bij. Het poëtische verhaal sprak niet aan; te zoet.

[Henry Sturcke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lovely little volume combines two narrative poems by Hermann Hesse with illustrations by Gunter Böhmer, who was Hesse's neighbor in Montagnola for three decades. Hesse composed both poems in 1935, which helps explain a similarity in mood, even though the subject matter is disparate.
The first, "Stunden im Garten," begins with a detailed description of Hesse's chores in his garden. Nothing special here, I thought. More like a writer's exercise in observation than something meant for publication. Nevertheless, the author's love for what he was describing was evident.
Then the poem's narrator sits in a secluded spot for a break. A reasonable thing to do. Even in spring, the sun on the south slope of the Alps can be hot by mid-morning. Before I know it, the narrator is building a fire and likening himself first to an alchemist, then to a priest. Quite a leap from a precise description of one's garden to the mystical plane—or perhaps not.
In the second, "Der Lahme," Hesse recalls a slightly older boy in the hometown of his childhood. The boy—wizened, small, and lame—suffered ridicule from the other boys, but Hesse is fascinated by him, particularly his fishing skill. This contrasts sharply with young Hesse's fledgling attempts with sewing thread and a bent nail. The boy sees Hesse admiring his catch and offers to instruct him. This leads to camaraderie (not friendship) that lasts the summer, perhaps a second; the older Hesse is no longer sure. Then they lose sight of one another. He wonders whether the other sensed the chasm that would separate them as boyhood waned. The nostalgic tone of the poem takes a turn at the end when the author confesses that he likes to imagine that this strange boy was secretly king of fish and dwarfs and that he found his way back to the grassy shoals.
Böhmer's drawings complement both texts well. I'm not a big fan of Hesse's poetry, but I enjoyed this book.

[Mudita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lettura breve e piacevole, specialmente se fatta all'aria aperta, a contatto con la natura. Come sempre di Hesse apprezzo lo stile candido e le descrizioni dei luoghi naturali, con il quale l'autore si é sempre sentito particolarmente connesso.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exactly as one would expect. Nice imagery but very literal.

[Caitlin Vaille · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Page from a Journal" is the shining star of this collection

[Edit Burla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ganz bescheiden sind sie, Hesses Idyllen. Bescheiden und beschaulich und in ihrer Einfachheit doch tiefgründig. Hesse geht so zart mit der Sprache um, dass selbst seine Prosa poetisch wirkt.

[Stephen Hawks]

It has been a while since I read this collection of Hesse's poems. The problem for me in all the translations I have read of Hesse is that I suspect that something is missing. I have always thought of Monk as the counterpart to Hesse in European painting, especially in these poems. For both art seems a refuge and a path of liberation.

[Peacenow · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read this after reading several other works by Hesse you will see how masterfully he has woven his protagonists into his ruminations while working in his garden. As a gardener I felt a mind-meld with him.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think he was as good a poet as he was a writer of prose.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing mind-blowing here, just a plesant, somewhat thought provoking little collection of poems. The "Lame Boy" was, for me, particularly powerful. All in all, a very likable little read.

[Neil Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff, but I think it's Hesse's novel writing style and the depth he gets into in them that really attract me.

[Meca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true garden lover and expert. Hermann's essays are quite to the point, for which I have the same feeling when reading his novels. The poems and drawings are also preciuos.