Poems (Hesse)
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| Poems | |
 Jonathan Cape paperback edition (1977) |
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| Author | Hermann Hesse |
|---|---|
| Original title | Die Gedichte |
| Translator | James Wright |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
| Subject(s) | Poetry |
| Publisher | Suhrkamp Verlag |
| Publication date | 1953 |
| Published in English |
1970 |
| Media type | |
Poems is a collection of 31 poems written by the German author Hermann Hesse between 1899 and 1921. They were selected and translated to English by James Wright in 1970 from Die Gedichte, which was published in German in 1953. This collection was first published in 1971.
Contents |
[edit] Contents
Each translated poem in this volume appears alongside the original German text. The poems, with the year they were written, are:
- I Know, You Walk / Ich weiß, du gehst 1899
- Across the Fields ... / Über die Felder ... 1902
- Elizabeth / Elisabeth 1902
- Ravenna (1) / Ravenna (1) 1902
- Ravenna (2) / Ravenna (2) 1902
- Lonesome Night / Einsame Nacht 1902
- A Swarm of Gnats / Mückenschwarm 1911
- The Poet / Der Dichter 1911
- Mountains at Night / Berge in der Nacht 1911
- At Night on the High Seas / Bei Nacht 1911
- To a Chinese Girl Singing / An eine chinesische Sängerin 1915
- Departure from the Jungle / Abschied vom Urwald 1915
- Evil Time / Böse Zeit 1911
- On a Journey / Auf Wanderung 1911
- Night / Wohl lieb ich die finstre Nacht 1911
- Destiny / Schicksal 1911
- Ode to Hölderlin / Ode an Hölderlin 1911
- Childhood / Die Kindheit 1915
- Lying in Grass / Im Grase liegend 1915
- How Heavy the Days ... / Wie sind die Tage ... 1911
- In a Collection of Egyptian Sculptures / In einer Sammlung ägyptischer Bildwerke 1915
- Without you / Ohne dich 1915
- The First Flowers / Die ersten Blumen 1915
- Spring Day / Frühlingstag 1915
- Holiday Music in the Evening / Feierliche Abendmusik 1911
- Thinking of a Friend at Night / Denken an den Freund bei Nacht 1915
- Autumn Day / Herbsttag 1915
- To Children / Den Kindern 1915
- Flowers, too / Auch die Blumen 1911
- Uneasiness in the Night / Angst in der Nacht 1911
- All Deaths / Alle Tode 1921
[edit] Background
Hermann Hesse is best known for his novels, but he was also a poet. In the seven volume German edition of his works, there are some 480 pages of poems. Hesse's novels themselves contain many passages of literal verse.
The common thread that runs through the poems in this collection is homesickness. On the selection of these poems, James Wright wrote in the Translator's Note: "All I wish to do is to offer a selection of Hesse's poems which deal with the single theme of homesickness." Many of Hesse's novels touched on this subject, including Steppenwolf (1927):
- Towards the end of the novel, Hermine says to Harry: "… Ah, Harry, we have to stumble through so much dirt and humbug before we reach home. And we have no one to guide us. Our only guide is our homesickness."
In these poems Hesse has touched this theme with a "traditionally endearing delicacy."
[edit] References
- Hermann Hesse. Poems. Jonathan Cape 1977. ISBN 0-224-01548-6.
[edit] External links
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