my little realm

Welcome to my little realm, dedicated to German poetry and art. Not that I specifically planned it to be so - I just kept adding my favorite poets and stuff that moves me, and this is the result. There aren't too many English websites out there on these topics, hence the birth of this one. It's all about shameless propaganda of great literature. That and German Romanticism, my non-guilty pleasure.

Some big updates are on the way. Funny how things change... Last fall, I came to the University of Chicago as a die-hard germanist, intent on majoring in the field. And now...there's just so much out there. Like the great North. Now I might just do Comparative Literature, or something entirely different, like Visual Arts. Or both... Whatever happens, my love for German is by no means dead, and my future appears to be most definitely academic. Ah, who am I kidding, germanistik it is. You always come back to what you love. Just that a few new pages might pop up in the near future with totally different subjects, thus changing the theme and focus of the site. Possibly some of my drawings too.

Some of the works on the site are in my translation (So far it is Borchert's, Heine's, and Eichendorff's, with more to follow). One important note must be kept in mind when reading my "translations" of Heine and Eichendorff. Instead of trying to follow the originals' style and rhyme patterns, I went for a literal prosaic translation any child can do, solely for the sake of acquainting you with the poems' meanings. Next to those I posted the poems in original German, inviting you to scan them with your eyes even if you don't speak the language, after having read the literal translation - and hopefully you will then be able to see and appreciate the beauty of the originals. Most of English rhymed translations of the German Romantic poetry fails, and makes it sound too sing-songy and naive. The simple rhyming structure, derived from German folk songs, does not adopt very well to English words. I have once seen one of Heine's lyrical poems translated into "English with a Scottish accent" and orthography, and it was unbelievably good! Precisely because it gets closer to the folk heart and charisma of the German original, something that literary and austere proper English simply cannot do. Goethe is fine in English, Schiller is fine - their verse has structure and logical order. But as for Heine's lyrical verse, and Eichendorff's lyrical verse, they win the reader over by their simplicity, sincerity, and magnetism. Translations often make them sound overly naive, but in original these poems wink at you from the page and know their own worth. One day I will attempt rhymed verse translation of these poets... but in the meantime, have a go at it this way, with the original German verse side by side. Too many people think this language can only be harsh and abrasive. So may these poems show how melodic, light, and betimes tender German can sound. The art I post on the pages is meant to form a connection with the content, reflecting the moods and feelings in the works.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, Herren und Frauen, take your time and enjoy!

~M