In Hora Mortis / Under the Iron of the Moon
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In Hora Mortis / Under the Iron of the Moon by Thomas Bernhard
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.
"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
Thomas Bernhard is widely considered one of the most important Austrian writers of the twentieth century. Among his best-known works are the novels Gargoyles and Woodcutters and the play Heldenplatz. James Reidel is a poet, translator, and scholar. He is the author of My Window Seat for Arlena Twigg and Other Poems and Vanished Act: The Life and Art of Weldon Kees.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780691126425 |
| ISBN 10 | 0691126429 |
| Title | In Hora Mortis / Under the Iron of the Moon |
| Author | Thomas Bernhard |
| Series | The Lockert Library Of Poetry In Translation |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Princeton University Press |
| Year published | 2006-05-22 |
| Number of pages | 192 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |