Peter Wortsman Bücher

Spanning the Brothers Grimm to Kafka and beyond, a new collection of the most strange and fantastical German stories from the past 200 years Franz Kafka posthumously cornered the nightmare market in the twentieth century. Yet in our adulation of Kafka's wonderfully bizarre prose, English-language readers tend to overlook the fact that he was not spawned Athena-like from the cranium of German literature. Kafka had his precursors among the German Romantics, as well as his contemporaries working in kindred veins and his heirs in post–World War II Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. This rich and varied anthology gathers together many haunting stories, from the dark fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, to Kafka's own chilling satire "In the Penal Colony," to the surreal fantasies of Kurt Schwitter in "The Onion."

Every great city is a restless work in progress, but nowhere is the urban impulse more in flux than in Berlin, that sprawling metropolis located on the fault line of history. A short-lived fever-dream of modernity in the Roaring Twenties, redubbed Germania and primped up into the megalomaniac fantasy of a Thousand-Year Reichstadt in the Thirties, reduced in 1945 to a divided rubble heap, subsequently revived in a schizoid state of post-World War II duality, and reunited in 1989 when the wall came tumbling down ? Berlin has since been reborn yet again as the hipster hub of the 21st century. This book is a hopscotch tour in time and space. Part memoir, part travelogue, Ghost Dance in Berlin is an unlikely declaration of love, as much to a place as to a state of mind, by the American-born son of German-speaking Jewish refugees. Peter Wortsman imagines the parallel celebratory haunting of two sets of ghosts, those of the exiled erstwhile owners, a Jewish banker and his family, and those of the Führer's Minister of Finance and his entourage, who took over title, while in another villa across the lake another gaggle of ghosts is busy planning the Final Solution.

Like a farmer rotating his crops, Peter Wortsman periodically ploughs words back into the mulch of meaning. Romanian émigré DADA poet Tristran Tzara (aka Samuel Rosenstock, 1896-1963) gave it a name: cut-up (or "découpé" in French). Wortsman reverts to cutups when he's too distracted, depressed, dumbfounded or deranged to write in the regular manner. As the isolation of virtual lockdown during the seemingly interminable Covid-19 pandemic stretches into its third year, Wortsman, a modern-day monk, languishes in the solitude of his cell, longing for meaningful communion. Absent belief in a transcendent being, cutups take the place of prayer.

Featuring a collection of short short fictions primarily crafted in the 1980s, this work by Peter Wortsman is considered a foundational piece in the flash fiction genre. First published in 1991, it showcases Wortsman's unique storytelling style and innovative approach to brevity, highlighting the impact of concise narratives in literature.

Exploring a blend of narrative and poetic styles, this collection presents a diverse array of stories, ranging from personal experiences to imaginative tales. Over the past decade, the author has gathered impressions and reflections that capture the essence of human experience, inviting readers to engage with the fertile ground of dreams and memories. The unique aesthetic of these writings offers a thought-provoking journey through various themes and emotions.

Exploring the connection between urban wildlife and human creativity, this book features a unique collaboration between a father and daughter. Through vivid words and art, they depict various city creatures, from ravens in Berlin to parakeets in Brooklyn, highlighting how these animals inspire imagination and intellect. Each location serves as a backdrop for a deeper understanding of nature's presence in urban settings, inviting readers to appreciate the often-overlooked wildlife in their own cities.

Exploring the reflections of late middle age, Peter Wortsman shares insightful essays that serve as a memoir. Known for his prose fiction and plays, he delves into personal experiences and observations, offering a candid perspective on life’s complexities and the journey of self-discovery. Through his unique lens, Wortsman invites readers to contemplate their own paths and the epiphanies that arise during this transformative stage of life.

„Wenn ich als Erwachsener mit dem lockeren Löffel der Zunge zurück in diese noch flüssige Vorstufe des Bewusstseins stoße, die Deutsch für mich bedeutet, so tue ich es bewusst als Englischsprechender, der sich an andere Laute erinnert, die mehr über das sonst Unsagbare sagen als yes und no.“ So schreibt im Vorwort der in New York geborene Autor, Sohn österreichisch-jüdischer Emigranten. „In mir“, behauptet er, „lebt ein ungeborener Dichter deutscher Sprache.“ Aus diesen teils quasi-autobiographischen, teils albträumerischen Erzählungen, die meisten ursprünglich auf Deutsch geschrieben und danach vom Autor selbst ins Englische übertragen bzw. adaptiert, schöpft Wortsman ein verlockendes, wenn auch verstörendes Bildnis, nicht nur seines Selbsts sondern auch unseres zersplitterten Zeitalters. Trotz allem hegt Wortsman mit seinem Schreiben eine Hoffnung: „Vielleicht haben wir Deutsche und Juden der Nachkriegszeit als Kinder einer verkrachten Kulturehe zusammen noch etwas Positives zu schaffen, vielleicht können wir ja noch ein paar Fetzen Vernunft aus den Trümmern der Vergangenheit herausholen und daraus ein Zelt aufschlagen, das groß genug ist für all unsere Träume.“ Stimme über Peter Wortsman als Autor: „Peter Wortsman hat eine Orchesterstimme, die leise anfängt, und doch bald zu einem Crescendo aufbaut, das keinen Leser unberührt lässt.“ - Deborah Feldman, Autorin von Unorthodox und Überbitten "Peter Wortsman, der ‚im Flammenschatten‘ der Kriegsgeneration geboren wurde, ist ein Meister der kurzen Prosa. Er kommt aus New York, ist aber ein essenzieller Europäer. Seine Prosa bezieht sich auf solche Meister, wie Dino Buzzati, Clarice Lispector, Juan Rulfo, Tonino Guerra oder Paul Bowles. Wortsman's Kurzgeschichten sind atemberaubend überraschend: sein Blick auf die unerträgliche Leichtigkeit des Seins offenbart die unvermeidliche Banalität des Bösen.„ - Julia Kissina, Autorin von “Frühling auf dem Mond„ und “Elephantinas Moskauer Jahre"