Walking with Walser

Robert Walser, the "poet whose fate is like snow," was posthumously honored as the founder of modern German literature. He worked as a clerk, a servant, served in the military, was confined to a mental hospital, and finally died in the snow.
But he was admired by Kafka, praised by Hesse and esteemed by Benjamin.
Robert Walser, a Swiss German-speaking writer, is considered the founder of modern German literature.
Kafka is just a special case of Walser's type.
—Musil Walser's retreat into the asylum and his subsequent isolation from the world made sense. He either saved himself in the asylum or was starved to death by Swiss professors and radio executives. These people, though they had good jobs, could not write a single sentence as beautiful as Walser's.
It is precisely in the work of Robert Walser that we first notice an extraordinary, indescribable sense of laziness. This emptiness is weight, this confusion is perseverance—this is the last thing the reader can think of when reading Walser.
——Benjamin★The only true record of the last twenty years of Walser's life, the twenty-year walking diary of "the walker who missed time" and his close friend
In 1929, he took refuge in a mental hospital and lived in seclusion for the rest of his life.
From 1936, Karl Seilich took walks with Walser and wrote a diary in which he recorded the master's precious quotations, which became the only record of the last twenty years of Walser's life.
★Designed by designer Shanchuan, this German-style square-spine hardcover pocket book uses elegant colors to restore the texture of the past. It is easy to carry with you and flip through, and is suitable for reading short chapters in the style of a diary. It contains many historical photo illustrations to restore the ordinary life of a great writer and how to use walking to resist the loneliness of life.
【Celebrity Recommendation】
Walser is not a forgotten writer today thanks largely to the work done by Karl Seilich on his behalf. Without Seilich's accounts of his walks with Walser, without his initial work on his biography, without his published collections of his works and his decoding of Walser's manuscripts, Walser's recovery would have been impossible and his memory would have likely faded.
——WG Sebald
[Karl Seilich's] personal firsthand account is the closest thing we have to Walser's memoirs. He asks Walser questions about his personal and professional history, his literary and political views, like those of an oral historian, and Walser, trusting his companion, answers calmly, spiced up the conversation with his characteristic humor and unusual observations.
—Sarah Cowen, Bookforum
"A Walk with Walser" fully captures Walser's philosophy of living a humble life, finding beauty in ordinary things, and getting by with less.
——Moira David [Introduction]
In 1929, Swiss German writer Robert Walser took refuge in a mental hospital and lived out the rest of his life in seclusion.
In 1933, Walser stopped writing. He said he wasn't here to write, but to go crazy. If he wanted to write, he wouldn't be here. He turned to another favorite activity: hiking.
From 1936 onwards, Karl Seilich visited regularly, took walks with Walser, and wrote a diary, which became the only authentic record of the last twenty years of Walser's life.
During the long walk, Selig entered the heart of the long-silent poet, and Walser began to pour out his insights on life and literature again.
On Christmas Day 1956, Walser died in the Alpine snow, first discovered by a hunting dog, then by nearby farmers, and then by the whole world.

2022-10-01

广西师范大学出版社

288

9787559853110