It's been a while - a long one - since I studied Brecht at uni and again, some time later, when I went back to uni to become a translator and this poem was introduced as part of a longer analysis on translating gender aspects, historical and current (the course was in 2001).
The German original of Brecht's Die Nachtlager is "Mensch" here translated as "man".
As expected, there was a heated debate on why and why not use "man" and not "people" or "folks" or even "reader" - and some suggested "you". We failed to agree but it is well known that Brecht was not too happy during his six years of exile in the US, especially LA, and that he spoke only limited English. BTW My vote goes to "people".
Thank you for that (and Devin too of course). I’ve thought a lot about this poem and the pivot of “don’t put down the book” is as Devin says poetically powerful. But the ‘man’ always jolts. To my Irish ears it conjures up an old hippy and weakens the poem for me. I was thinking ‘you’ (the ‘you who philosophize disgrace’ in Dylan’s Hattie Carroll is the same device) but I’ve been thinking about your ‘people’. Is it just ‘people’ though? - is there a suggestion of ‘good people’ in the use of Mensch here, an address to a specific audience who care (or are honorable). That may not be a German reading though. Thanks for the reflections, both.
My mother liked to read Bertoldt Brecht's plays - straight up - no platitudes or excuses for humanity. She would read in the dining room which was covered with wallpaper of fleecy angels alighting on clouds. Later, she endured McCarthyism and the Vietnam war (which she marched against with all her declining strength). The pendulum of public discourse swings on...
It's been a while - a long one - since I studied Brecht at uni and again, some time later, when I went back to uni to become a translator and this poem was introduced as part of a longer analysis on translating gender aspects, historical and current (the course was in 2001).
The German original of Brecht's Die Nachtlager is "Mensch" here translated as "man".
As expected, there was a heated debate on why and why not use "man" and not "people" or "folks" or even "reader" - and some suggested "you". We failed to agree but it is well known that Brecht was not too happy during his six years of exile in the US, especially LA, and that he spoke only limited English. BTW My vote goes to "people".
Love this context! Thank you for it. And thank you for reading.
Thank you for that (and Devin too of course). I’ve thought a lot about this poem and the pivot of “don’t put down the book” is as Devin says poetically powerful. But the ‘man’ always jolts. To my Irish ears it conjures up an old hippy and weakens the poem for me. I was thinking ‘you’ (the ‘you who philosophize disgrace’ in Dylan’s Hattie Carroll is the same device) but I’ve been thinking about your ‘people’. Is it just ‘people’ though? - is there a suggestion of ‘good people’ in the use of Mensch here, an address to a specific audience who care (or are honorable). That may not be a German reading though. Thanks for the reflections, both.
My mother liked to read Bertoldt Brecht's plays - straight up - no platitudes or excuses for humanity. She would read in the dining room which was covered with wallpaper of fleecy angels alighting on clouds. Later, she endured McCarthyism and the Vietnam war (which she marched against with all her declining strength). The pendulum of public discourse swings on...
love this; thank you for sharing this memory of your mother
Really enjoyed this close reading!
Also a reminder that the best political art is still aesthetically powerful.
thank you!
This post stayed with me this week ... spoke so powerfully to a tension I have grappled with for a long time. (I posted your piece on Twitter with some comments -- https://twitter.com/JeffBradach/status/1667350877768912897).
I so appreciate what you do in illuminating the deep, swirling currents that move us through life.