Beers & Books CCLXVI – Alexander Kielland

A great piece of literature
obviously ignored by English publishers.

Alexander L. Kielland (18 February 1849 – 6 April 1906)

Beers & Books CCLXV – Letters from the Great Blaskets

 Letters from the Great Blasket is
 the only book in English by any Blascadian author

Eibhlís ní Shúilleabháin (1911 – 12 September 1971)

The Great Blasket

Beers & Books CCLXIV – Jürgen Habermas

"It is not a political decision,
but a constitutional imperative
to maintain a media structure
that enables the inclusive character of the public sphere
and a deliberative character of the formation of public opinion and will." *

Jürgen Habermas * 18 June 1929

* From "Ein neuer Strukturwandel der Öffentlichkeit und die deliberative Politik", erste Auflage 2022, Suhrkamp / "A New Structural Change in the Public Sphere and Deliberative Politics", first edition 2022, Suhrkamp

Beers & Books CCLXIII – Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales

. . .

 

Beers & Books CCLXII – Bertold Brecht

To those born later

Bertold Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956)

Beers & Books CCLXI – Jakob Wassermann

All injustice and suffering on earth
has its reason in the fact
that experiences cannot be transmitted.
At the most, they can be communicated.
Between the appropriate and the unbearable
lies the whole path of experience,
which only one person can ever travel alone.
Just as only one person ever dies alone
and no one knows anything about death....

Jakob Wassermann (10 March 1873 – 1 January 1934)

Same Procedure as Every Year

If counted well the Germans today can/could watch Dinner for One (The 90th Birthday) 20 times at different times on various TV-channels, and apart from the original in various German dialects, inclusive Schwiizerdütsch (Swiss German). Very strange folks, the Germans. Well, judge for yourself. 

Tiny tip-off: Be absolutely determined not to laugh.

Dinner for One

Beers & Books CCLX – Nicolas Born

Circle of Deceit
*

Nicolas Born (31 December 1937 – 7 December 1979)

Merry Christmas!

... and peace on earth.

Merry Christmas

. . . and don't blame the vulture.

 

Beers &Books CCLVIX – Hölderlin

. . .

 

Friedrich Hölderlin (20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843)

Laughing Lhursday*

Across the street from Seanhenge, a Christmas elf named Wolfram moved in at the beginning of December.

He has not yet been seen,
but he writes regularly, and often traces
of his highly varied nocturnal activities
are unmistakable.

The other day he was told in a letter
that the writer's grandfather
had cooked him a portion of rice, and ...

. . . that she, the letter writer,
hoped Wolfram would relish it.

And yes, it did taste, Wolfram wrote,
but asked for indulgence that unfortunately
he did not quite manage
to entirely eat the huge portion.

 * [For first time visitors]: Typo in the title? Nah. It's just that
I would not let a tiny T spoil an avantgardistic alliteration.
 

Beers & Books CCLVIII – Heinrich Böll

...

Heinrich Böll (21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985)