In Hora Mortis / Under the Iron of the Moon: Poems (Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation) [Paperback]

Thomas Bernhard (Author), James Reidel (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation | Publication Date: May 2, 2006

Internationally acclaimed Austrian novelist, playwright, and memoirist Thomas Bernhard (1931-1989) has been compared to Kafka and Beckett, and critics have ranked his novels among the masterpieces of the twentieth century. But in fact he began his career in the 1950s as a poet, publishing three books of well-received verse before turning to fiction. In Hora Mortis / Under the Iron of the Moon is the first book of his expressionist-like poetry to be published in English. Bringing together Bernhard's second and third books of poetry, the collection's short, untitled lyrics reveal his early explorations of themes that would continue to preoccupy him in his novels, plays, and other writings--especially his intense ambivalence toward the land and people of Austria and their then-recent Nazi past. As the translator James Reidel writes in his preface, "Bernhard found Austrian soil . . . to be like a hair shirt and a blanket. It is a killing ground but with a postcard setting." In poems that both subvert and pay homage to such influences as Georg Trakl, Bernhard begins to develop his characteristic dark humor while exploring themes of nature, death, meaninglessness, and faith.

Editorial Reviews

Review

For all their acrid elegance, [these poems] are compelling because Thomas Bernhard wrote them. . . . [T]hey . . . show how deeply Bernhard, the caustic besmircher of the native nest, was rooted in the soil of his homeland. Every line suggests that his love of it was almost equal to his loathing. -- Eric Ormsby, New York Sun

Review

Already recognized as a champion of neglected genius, Reidel continues his admirable project by providing American readers with the early verse works of the modern prose master, Thomas Bernhard. This is a beautiful and necessary book. The translations themselves immediately strike me as both accurate and inspired, and are accompanied by a highly readable and erudite introduction which vividly brings to life the young Bernhard and his efforts (alongside older contemporaries such as Krolow, Eich, Bachmann, and Celan) to recreate for literary and moral purposes the great language the Nazis destroyed.
(Franz Wright, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; Bilingual edition (May 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691126429
• ISBN-13: 978-0691126425
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,846,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars IF YOU HAVE PRONLEMS with PEOPLE AND YOURSELF AND GOD, February 12, 2007

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MOONWALKIN' "& TABLE TENNIS" (Tomales CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Hora Mortis / Under the Iron of the Moon: Poems (Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation) (Hardcover)

If you're into despair you might like these poems or you might just think they
are boring. I do admire Bernhard as a writer but most of the poems in these two collections are like recycled Trackl or somebody. I like them regardless...