Wird’s besser? Wird’s schlimmer?: Gebrauchstexte für (fast) jeden Anlass

by Erich Kästner, Renate Reichstein (Editor), Hanjo Kesting (Foreword)

Sie benötigen dringend noch ein paar passende Worte für das Jubiläum Ihres hoch geschätzten Chefs? Kein Problem: "Vorgesetzte muss es geben, Angestellte müssen sein. Ordnung ist das halbe Leben. Brust heraus und Bauch hinein!" Oder wahlweise etwas kühner: "Arbeit lässt sich schlecht vermeiden"...

Geburtstag, Hochzeitstag ("Der siebente Himmel wird frisch tapeziert"), Ruhestand, Kündigung, Konfirmation, Stammtisch, Liebe ("Und meine Seele lief sich bei dir Blasen") und nicht zu vergessen der "Damentoast im Obstgarten", aber auch All-Gemeines und Erbauliches zur Lage der Nation ("Ans deutsche Volk, von Ulm bis Kiel") und zum Menschen an sich ("Ist der Mensch nicht eine Plage?), mit den Gedichten, Aufsätzen, Reden und Epigrammen von Erich Kästner finden Sie mit Sicherheit etwas Passendes für (fast) jede Lebenslage, sei es nun einfach zum vergnüglichen Lesen oder als Zitat für den gegebenen Anlass.

Mit einem ausführlichen Schlagwortregister fällt das Suchen leicht. Mit Kästner werden Sie auf jeder Veranstaltung brillieren!

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Erich Kästner (1899–1974) was a German author, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known for his humorous, socially astute poetry and children's literature.
A stout pacifist and democrat, he was expelled from the national writers' guild during the Nazi era, with many of his books being burned in public. Today, he is widely regarded as one of Germany's most prolific and beloved children's book authors.

AKA:
Έριχ Καίστνερ (Greek)

Reviews

[Furait]

mooi voorwoord, moralistische gedichten

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than four decades after his death, Erich Kästner is still among the most popular German writers. Born in 1899, he fought in World War I as a teenager and soon thereafter became a writer, even having some of his articles and poems published Die Weltbühne, the influential left-wing weekly edited by Kurt Tucholsky and later, Carl von Ossietzky. His novel Fabian is among the classics of the Neue Sachlichkeit school and led to the banning of his books in Nazi Germany. As he wrote in an essay included in this anthology, he was in Zürich when the burning of the Reichstag occurred and, against the wishes of his friends, returned to Germany on the same train that brought many writers into exile. He describes how he tried to talk fellow writers in Berlin into staying, which, as he later realized, would certainly have led to their deaths. But he felt it was important to bear witness, going so far as to be present at the infamous May 10, 1933 book burning demonstration of the Opernplatz in Berlin. During his period of “inner exile” from 1933-1945, Kästner wrote children’s books, light comedies, and other pieces under pseudonyms. After the war until his death, he wrote a regular column for a Munich newspaper.

This short collection, subtitled "Useful Words for (almost) Every Occasion," brings together some of his best poetry and essays. Virtually every selection has a memorable quote or verse. Kästner was obsessed with age and youth and the connection between both, as he wrote in an essay for children beginning their first year of school, „Nur wer erwachsen wird und Kind bleibt, ist Ein Mensch!” (“One who becomes an adult and remains a child is human!”) Along the same lines, I thought one of the best verses was in „Die Großeltern haben Besuch” (“The Grandparents Have a Visitor”):

Spielt brav mit Sand und baut euch Illusionen!
Ihr und Wir Alten wissen ja Bescheid:
Man darf sie bauen, aber nicht drin wohnen.
Ach, bleibt so klug, wenn ihr erwachsen Seid!

(Play politely with the sand and build your illusions!
You and we old ones know it well:
One is allowed to build, but never live in them.
Oh, remain that smart when you are adults!)

I would recommend this book highly to any teachers of intermediate to advanced German. It also makes a great bedside companion.

[Thorsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Gebrauchstexte für (fast) jeden Anlass", da fand ich die Lyrische Hausapotheke überzeugender.

[Susu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spitze Feder