Literature - Publisher collects texts of comfort in dark times
Almost 100 celebrities have collected texts that comfort them for an anthology published by S. Fischer Verlag. The book "Worte in finstereren Zeiten" (Words in darker times) aims to shed light, said publisher Oliver Vogel. Contributors include the authors Julia Frank and Kathrin Röggala, the writers Durs Grünbein and Peter Stamm, the actresses Katja Riemann and Maria Schrader, the publicists Florian Illies and Meron Mendel, the cleric Margot Käßmann and the historian Götz Aly.
"Since October 7, 2023, many people have felt at a loss for words," reads the foreword. They are struggling to find words for the violence in the Middle East, the increasing social hardening and "for grief, helplessness, anger, fatigue in the face of wars and desperate people all over the world and in their immediate neighborhood".
The publisher wanted to counter this and asked for texts that would encourage and comfort. According to the publisher, more than 90 people in Frankfurt responded within a week. Some sent in several texts at once. Excerpts from novels, interviews, poems, letters, notes, song lyrics, diary entries and even a photo from space were sent in.
Zsuzsa Bank, for example, reads Karl Ove Knausgard: "Sometimes it hurts to live, but there is always something worth living for". Arnold Stadler reads Aeschylus: "For war is a banker, flesh is his gold". Marlene Streeruwitz reads Voltaire: "I suspect that, in general, those who meddle in public affairs perish miserably and that they deserve it."
There is also music: Aiman Mazyek listens to Simon & Garfunkel: "Hello darkness, my old friend", Frank Trentmann listens to Richard Strauss: "And tomorrow the sun will shine again". Some authors are particularly popular as sources of comfort, with Hannah Arendt and Paul Celan being mentioned more frequently. The Bible and the Koran are also included.
Publisher's information
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- The anthology, "Worte in finstereren Zeiten," was published by S. Fischer Verlag in Frankfurt on the Main.
- Durs Grünbein, a renowned German author, is one of the contributors to the anthology.
- The prominent German cleric Margot Käßmann also contributed comforting texts to the anthology.
- In the foreword, it's mentioned that many people have been struggling to find words due to global violence and despair.
- The idea behind the anthology was to collect texts that offer comfort and encouragement during difficult times.
- Götz Aly, a renowned German historian, is another name on the list of contributors to the anthology.
- Maria Schrader, a famous German actress, also contributed texts to the anthology, which aims to provide comfort especially during the turn of the year.
- Florian Illies and Meron Mendel, two prominent publicists, are also among the authors who have contributed comforting texts to the anthology.
- Hesse, the city known for world-class literature, saw a significant response to the publisher's call for comforting texts, with more than 90 responses in Frankfort alone.
Source: www.stern.de
