The Nasobame

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Das Nasobēm, usually translated into English as The Nasobame, is a short nonsense poem by German writer Christian Morgenstern (1871–1914). It was written around 1895 and published in his book Galgenlieder (1905).[1]

  Auf seinen Nasen schreitet   "Striding on its noses
  einher das Nasobēm,   there comes the Nasobame,
  von seinem Kind begleitet.   with its young in the tow.
  Es steht noch nicht im Brehm.   It isn't yet in Brehm's
  Es steht noch nicht im Meyer.   It isn't yet in Meyer's
  Und auch im Brockhaus nicht.   And neither in Brockhaus'
  Es trat aus meiner Leyer   It trotted out of my lyre
  zum ersten Mal ans Licht.   when it came first to light.
  Auf seinen Nasen schreitet   Striding on its noses
  (wie schon gesagt) seitdem,   thereon (as I've said above),
  von seinem Kind begleitet,   with its young in the tow,
  einher das Nasobēm.   there goes the nasobame."

This poem is notable for, among other things, having inspired zoologist Gerolf Steiner to write in 1961 an extremely popular mock-scientific treatise on the fictitious animal order of the Rhinogradentia, also called "nasobames" or "snouters", whose nasal appendages had evolved in many amazing ways.[2] Poetic translations of this poem (by Robert Weill - French, G.G. Simpson - English and L. Chadwick - English) can be found in his 1988 sequel .[3]

References

  1. ↑ Christian Morgenstern (1905): Galgenlieder. Bruno Cassirer Verlag, Berlin.
  2. ↑ Harald Stümpke [=Gerolf Steiner] (1967): The Snouters: Form and Life of the Rhinogrades. Translated by Leigh Chadwick. The University of Chicago Press.
  3. ↑ Karl D.S. Geeste [=Gerolf Steiner] (1988): Stümpke's Rhinogradentia: Versuch einer Analyse. Gustav Fischer Verlag.


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