Without Lifting A Finger

Grass's My Century is an oleagenious mix of fact and fiction. Strategically placing his anonymous narrator at the center of the action, he laces a discussion of the famed meeting between Celan and Heidegger with the troubled narrative of the '60's (Chapters 1966 & 1967). One detail that is apparently a fact is that Celan altered the text, at some point deleting the parenthetical ungesaumt kommendes (Felstiner's "undelayed coming") and simply writing kommendes . Via his narrator, here is part of Grass's account:      Although I imparted these and other reminiscences to the students, I could respond to the question posed by the inquisitive one among them about what I thought had or had not been spoken of in the cottage only by referring to the poem "Todtnauberg" itself. I pointed out many clues. The plant name "arnica," which the poet also calls Augentrost , "comfort for the eyes," allows of many interpretations. The w...

I prefer his shorter works ( My Century, Cat and Mouse, Headbirths: Or the Germans Are Dying Out,... ) to the longer ones ( Tin Drum, Dog Years, The Flounder, The Rat,...) , but did you know that Gunter also writes poetry? What will this guy do next? * Too bad Grass and Handke (another fave) can't get along: http://www.faz.net/artikel/C30712/debatte-handke-grass-eine-schande-fuer-das-schriftstellertum-30011871.html * There's lots of good stuff in My Century (e.g., the meeting between Celan and Heidegger), but I'll settle for the last chapter (1999) in which a loving son (Gunter) resurrects his mother: He didn't force me into it, he talked me into it, the rascal. He was always good at that. I always said yes in the end. So now he's brought me back to life supposedly: I'm over a hundred and in decent health because he wills it.  * Oh, yes, the poetry. Lesser known, for sure, but still some good stuff here.  Here's a short one: Stadium at N...

Of course Lubeck means marzipan and Buddenbrooks, but today it means the Holsten Tor, the Gunter Grass Museum, and Ernst Barlach's statues at St. Catherine's.  So, get something hot at Balzac's Coffee and let's go... Holsten Tor Barlach's Statues outside St. Catherine's   Two shots in the courtyard of Gunter Grass's Museum