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Leichter als Luft: Moralische Gedichte
German
- GenresPoetry
131 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
1 person is currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Hans Magnus Enzensberger
311 books166 followersSee also:
Cyrillic: Ханс Магнус Енценсбергер
Hans Magnus Enzensberger was a German author, poet, translator and editor. He had also written under the pseudonym Andreas Thalmayr.
Enzensberger was regarded as one of the literary founding figures of the Federal Republic of Germany and wrote more than 70 books. He was one of the leading authors in the Group 47, and influenced the 1968 West German student movement. He was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize and the Pour Le Mérite, among many others.
He wrote in a sarcastic, ironic tone in many of his poems. For example, the poem "Middle Class Blues" consists of various typicalities of middle class life, with the phrase "we can't complain" repeated several times, and concludes with "what are we waiting for?". Many of his poems also feature themes of civil unrest over economic- and class-based issues. Though primarily a poet and essayist, he also ventured into theatre, film, opera, radio drama, reportage and translation. He wrote novels and several books for children (including The Number Devil, an exploration of mathematics) and was co-author of a book for German as a foreign language, (Die Suche). He often wrote his poems and letters in lower case.
Enzensberger also invented and collaborated in the construction of a machine which automatically composes poems (Landsberger Poesieautomat). This was used during the 2006 Football World Cup to commentate on games.
Tumult, written in 2014, is an autobiographical reflection of his 1960s as a left-wing sympathizer in the Soviet Union and Cuba.
Enzensberger translated Adam Zagajewski, Lars Gustafsson, Pablo Neruda, W. H. Auden and César Vallejo. His own work has been translated into more than 40 languages.
Cyrillic: Ханс Магнус Енценсбергер
Hans Magnus Enzensberger was a German author, poet, translator and editor. He had also written under the pseudonym Andreas Thalmayr.
Enzensberger was regarded as one of the literary founding figures of the Federal Republic of Germany and wrote more than 70 books. He was one of the leading authors in the Group 47, and influenced the 1968 West German student movement. He was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize and the Pour Le Mérite, among many others.
He wrote in a sarcastic, ironic tone in many of his poems. For example, the poem "Middle Class Blues" consists of various typicalities of middle class life, with the phrase "we can't complain" repeated several times, and concludes with "what are we waiting for?". Many of his poems also feature themes of civil unrest over economic- and class-based issues. Though primarily a poet and essayist, he also ventured into theatre, film, opera, radio drama, reportage and translation. He wrote novels and several books for children (including The Number Devil, an exploration of mathematics) and was co-author of a book for German as a foreign language, (Die Suche). He often wrote his poems and letters in lower case.
Enzensberger also invented and collaborated in the construction of a machine which automatically composes poems (Landsberger Poesieautomat). This was used during the 2006 Football World Cup to commentate on games.
Tumult, written in 2014, is an autobiographical reflection of his 1960s as a left-wing sympathizer in the Soviet Union and Cuba.
Enzensberger translated Adam Zagajewski, Lars Gustafsson, Pablo Neruda, W. H. Auden and César Vallejo. His own work has been translated into more than 40 languages.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 1, 2023
Another excellent, near perfect poetry book of Enzensberger: This poet brings together simple sensory perceptions with elaborated concepts from sciences, humanities and professions; he provides epiphanies when there is a sudden clash of different metaphorical realms or a smart turn; he easily uncovers contradictions in human behaviour.
December 24, 2022
How I enjoyed Hans Magnus Enzensberger; translated by Reinhold Grimm, Lighter than air: moral poems!
The last one:
“With her thimble she gropes
for the holes of the world
and keep mending and mending.”
“The Great Goddess”
Love the sound of the German rolling around my mouth: Fingerhut! So visceral and specific.
“Mit ihrem Fingerhut tastet sie
nach den Löchern der Welt
und flict und flict.”
“Die Große Göttin”
The last one:
“With her thimble she gropes
for the holes of the world
and keep mending and mending.”
“The Great Goddess”
Love the sound of the German rolling around my mouth: Fingerhut! So visceral and specific.
“Mit ihrem Fingerhut tastet sie
nach den Löchern der Welt
und flict und flict.”
“Die Große Göttin”
August 24, 2024
This collection just didn't work for me. Perhaps a lot was lost in translation? It feels a bit pretentious.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews