Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Something fresh.

For the past few days I've been reading the diaries of Franz Kafka. I'd heard so much about his diaries in the past, and I'd always intended on getting around to reading them. When I found a link to English translations this last weekend I decided to finally dig in.

After having only read The Metamorphosis and In The Penal Colony I must say I wasn't quite prepared for this. The diaries are written in a very elusive way: these half-fragments and broken thoughts. Yet, there is something strangely fulfilled and well-executed throughout his seemingly incomplete threads, as if the fragmentary nature of them holds the writing together in a tentatively self-sustaining manner.

I’ll post a link later when I’m not feeling so lazy, and actually have the will to search for it. Until then, here’s a cool music video of Hugh Cornwell’s Another Kind of Love directed by Jan Svankmajer.

5 comments:

Darkmatters said...

Post that link man!!! Or I'll come over and administer a manly drubbing! I'm quite skilled in the art of fisticuffs, you know. Defend yourself sirrah!

Andrew Liebau said...

http://kafka.metameat.net/archives/1910.php?en

So far 1910-1911 are posted, whereas it looks as though all of the diaries up to 1923 will eventually be on this site. I guess that drubbing won't be necessary. After all, you wouldn't have had a chance. The fist is no match for hot lead, and where I come from folks used to call me the Waco Kid.

Darkmatters said...

Wow, excellent stuff!

It's been too long since I've read anything that stirs the mind like this.

And no, I won't be drinking the Kool-Aid....

Anonymous said...

'Jiny druh lasky' is the Czech translation of the title of the English song "Another King of Love", not the name of the band.

(Actually, the performer is a solo artist - Hugh Cornwell. How he managed to persuade one of the world's greatest animators to direct what turned out to be his only music video remains a mystery)

Andrew Liebau said...

Thanks for the correction, Pedant. I changed it.

-Andrew Liebau-