27 June 1937
Out of the fog-bowl of St. Gallen via Postauto in the direction of Rehetobal. From there, on foot to Heiden and then to Thal, birthplace of my mother’s ancestors, nestled in its jewel box of verdure. After lunch, walked through the Buchberg wine country and up to an inn called The Stone Tablet, whose location offers an expansive view of Lake Constance. Later, under a violent thunderstorm, crossed the idyllic village of Buchen across Rorschach Mountain near the town of Rorschach. Returned by train.
“You know what my misfortune has been? Listen well. All those precious Herman Hesse fanatics who believed themselves entitled to criticize and dictate to me. For them it was always either-or: “Either you write like Hesse or you remain a failure.” On those extreme terms they judged me. They had no faith in my work. And that is the reason why I ended up in an institution. I never had a halo over my head. You need that to make it in literature. With some kind of halo – for heroism, endurance, something – you’re already halfway there. One sees me precisely, mercilessly, as I am. Therefore, no one takes me seriously.”
Some incidental remarks:
“When the newspaper grins, humanity cries.”
“Nature doesn’t expend effort in trying to make herself important. She simply is.”
“When a number of Nobel Prize winners are long-since forgotten, Jeremias Gotthelf will survive. As long as there is a Canton of Berne, there will also be a Jeremias Gotthelf.”
“The author C.F.W.: he’s like a ham actor.”
“Happiness is not good material for a poet. It is too self-sufficient. It doesn’t require comment. It can sleep rolled up into itself like a hedgehog. By contrast, song, tragedy and comedy: they are fully explosive. One need know only how to ignite them at the proper time. Then they rise into the sky and illuminate the whole area.”
[trans. Sam]
Sam :: Sep.10.2007 :: Uncategorized :: 5 Comments »
[...] My short intervals lately have been devoted to restarting our little translation project. You’ll note a new chapter has appeared, and the next one is materializing day by day, a sentence or paragraph at a time. Today, Robert tries to buy a suit. [...]
This is great! please keep going with this! the world needs this.
Thanks as always, Dan. Someday someone will do this much better than I can, but it’s fun to have in the meantime, isn’t it?
Hello,
I was wondering if you will have additional translations of the chapters from Wandering with Robert Walser in the future. I would be very interested in being able to read all of the chapters. Do you know of any other source for this book in English?
Thank you for your time.
Warm regards,
Eric Callies
Thank you for this fabulous resource.
Eric