Even in Germany, the scope and force of Bertolt Brechts poetry did not become apparent until long after his death and today, many of his more than 2,000 poems have never appeared in English. Love Poems, the first volume in a monumental undertaking by David Constantine and Tom Kuhn to translate his poetic legacy into English, positions Brecht not only as one of the most famous playwrights of the twentieth century but also as a fiercely creative twentieth-century poet, one of the best in German literature. With a foreword by his daughter; Love Poems features 78 astonishing and deeply personal love poems that reveal Brecht as lover and love poet whose struggle to keep faith, hope and love alive during desperate times represents the essence of human relationships.
Arvustused
"Not a title that would immediately spring to mind in relation to Brecht but, as these translations by David Constantine and Tom Kuhn show, Germany's most innovative dramatist was also a gifted lyrical poet, full of passion and insight" -- Belfast Telegraph
| A Personal Foreword |
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ix | |
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| Translators' Introduction |
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xv | |
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3 | (1) |
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O you can't know what I suffer... |
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4 | (1) |
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5 | (1) |
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However that may be, there was a time... |
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6 | (1) |
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7 | (1) |
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8 | (2) |
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10 | (1) |
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The days of all your bitternesses... |
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11 | (1) |
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12 | (2) |
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Through the room the wild wind comes... |
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14 | (1) |
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Down in the willow grove... |
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15 | (1) |
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16 | (2) |
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18 | (2) |
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20 | (3) |
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23 | (2) |
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25 | (2) |
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The river sings praises... |
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27 | (1) |
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28 | (2) |
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On the way from Augsburg to Timbuktu... |
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30 | (1) |
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Balaam Lai in his thirtieth year... |
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31 | (3) |
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34 | (1) |
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35 | (1) |
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There at the beginning... |
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36 | (1) |
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37 | (3) |
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Song of lost innocence folding the linen |
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40 | (3) |
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43 | (2) |
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Discovery about a young woman |
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45 | (1) |
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Ballad of the faithless women |
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46 | (2) |
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The song of Surabaya-Johnny |
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48 | (3) |
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51 | (1) |
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52 | (2) |
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54 | (2) |
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Tercets on love---The lovers |
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56 | (2) |
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58 | (1) |
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59 | (1) |
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60 | (1) |
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61 | (1) |
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62 | (1) |
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When we had been apart... |
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63 | (1) |
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64 | (1) |
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65 | (1) |
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Thoughts of a stripper during the act of undressing |
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66 | (2) |
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68 | (2) |
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70 | (2) |
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Song of the widow in love |
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72 | (2) |
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74 | (1) |
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When I'd reported to the couple, thus... |
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75 | (1) |
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I shall go with the one I love... |
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76 | (1) |
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To be read mornings and evenings |
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77 | (1) |
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Kin-Jeh said of his sister |
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78 | (1) |
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Our unceasing conversation... |
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79 | (1) |
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Kin-Jeh's second poem about his sister |
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80 | (1) |
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81 | (1) |
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82 | (1) |
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83 | (1) |
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84 | (1) |
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85 | (1) |
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86 | (1) |
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Then at the last, when death... |
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87 | (1) |
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88 | (1) |
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Remembering my little teacher... |
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89 | (1) |
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In the ninth year fleeing from Hitler... |
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90 | (1) |
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91 | (1) |
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After the death of my collaborator M.S. |
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92 | (1) |
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When I came back from Saint-Nazaire... |
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93 | (1) |
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94 | (1) |
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The song of fraternization |
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95 | (2) |
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97 | (1) |
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98 | (1) |
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99 | (1) |
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When I left you, afterwards... |
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100 | (1) |
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My love gave me a little branch... |
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101 | (1) |
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Seven roses the rosebush has... |
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102 | (1) |
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When it is fun with you... |
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103 | (1) |
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104 | (1) |
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Love song from a bad time |
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105 | (1) |
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106 | (1) |
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When I have to leave you dear... |
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107 | (2) |
| Notes |
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109 | |
Bertolt Brecht (18981956) was a German poet, playwright, and theater director. In those capacities, and also as a polemical essayist, he contributed powerfully to the chief literary and political debates of his day, and lastingly influenced theatrical theory and practice. He left more than 2,000 poems, assuring him a place among the very best lyric poets of Germany. David Constantine is a freelance writer and translator. His most recent volume of poetry is Elder (2014); his fourth collection of short stories, Tea at the Midland, won the Frank O Connor International Short Story Award in 2013. Tom Kuhn teaches at the University of Oxford, where he is a Fellow of St Hughs College. He works on twentieth-century drama and German exile literature and has been, since 1996, editor of the main English-language Brecht edition.
