Introduction and Table of Contents

Welcome to the German Joys Max Goldt Treasury. These are my translations of essays by the German writer Max Goldt, 2008 winner of the Heinrich von Kleist Prize. They're listed in no particular order. Each essay is on a separate page, and will open in a new window. Source information appears below each translation.

1. A Pakistani and a Texan Take Aim
2. On Film Music
3. The Masses and the Maidens 
4. Intact Abdomen Thanks to Cool Behavior
5. Weapons for El Salvador
6. Stubble Envy
7. Test-Driving Misery
8. May the Diva Ascend from the Rubbish
9. On the Magic of Walking Past Sideways

A few notes on the translations:

1. In a Laudatio held in Goldt's honor during the Kleist prize ceremony, Daniel Kehlmann called Goldt's work "untranslatable." How could I disagree? Goldt's German is rich and strange, and only glimpses of his peculiar gifts peek through these translations.
2. Goldt's essays are works in progress. I've made every effort to keep these versions current, but some may be slightly outdated.
3. Goldt has written over a dozen books, and hundreds of essays, poems, comics, song lyrics, and other unclassifiable creations. This page represents only a tiny fraction of  his work. I'm working on the rest. Als ich kann.

Enjoy!

 

Comments

[Ligia]

Hey Andrew GREAT JOB!! i´ve read your translations and some Max Goldt in original version and thought that some texts were really difficult, with some cultural references that the poor southamerican girl over here would never get. Why have I stopped reading it? Simple: I always rented the books from Goethe Institut São Paulo, and the readings took such a long time that I´ve got to pay they high fines due to the delays!

[write a dissertation]

Blogs are good for every one where we get lots of information for any topics nice job keep it up !!!

[write a dissertation]

Blogs are good for every one where we get lots of information for any topics nice job keep it up !!!

[bosso]

Pakistani And Texan: source link is lost. Check.

[Mr. Oblique]

"Als ick kan." I know what you mean, and I commiserate. It's a lonely job.

I find this particular author difficult to translate in any case. The difficulty is not merely linguistic but also cultural.

I would pay more attention to the varying levels of tone, which could have a jarring effect on the reader. This must be a problem inherent in the original. Easing your way from one level to the next without distracting your reader will be hard to accomplish.

The parallel use of American and British expressions is discordant at times. One or the other.

I'll add that I read your blog posts with more enjoyment than I do your Goldt translations. It appears that slipping into another literary persona is not an easy thing for you to do, at least here.

Good luck with this.