Every afternoon for almost a year, Mr Zed comes to the same spot in the city park and engages passers-by with quick-witted repartee. Those who pass ask: Who is this man? A wisecracker, a clown, a belligerent philosopher? Many shake their heads and move on; others listen to him, engage with him and, again and again, return to the same place. Mr Zed undermines arrogance, megalomania and false authority. A determined speaker who doesn't care for ambitions, he forces topics that others would rather keep to themselves. He sees absolutely nothing as 'non-negotiable', he admits mistakes and does away with judgement. At the end of the season, when it becomes too cold and uncomfortable in the park, he disappears, never to be seen again. Collected here are the considerations and provocations of this park-bench philosopher, in a volume of truths and conversations that are clear-cut, skeptical and fiercely illuminating. --
About the Author
See also:Cyrillic:Ханс Магнус ЕнценсбергерHans Magnus Enzensberger was a German author, poet, translator and editor. He had also written under the pseudonymAndreas Thalmayr.Enzensberger was regarded as one of the literary founding figures of the Federal Republic of Germany and wrote more than 70 books. He was one of the leading authors in the Group 47, and influenced the 1968 West German student movement. He was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize and the PourLe Mérite, among many others.He wrote in a sarcastic, ironic tone in many of his poems. For example, the poem "Middle Class Blues" consists of various typicalities of middle class life, with the phrase "we can't complain" repeated several times, and concludes with "what are we waiting for?". Many of his poems also feature themes of civil unrest over economic- and class-based issues. Though primarily a poet and essayist, he also ventured into theatre, film, opera, radio drama, reportage and translation. He wrote novels and several books for children (includingThe Number Devil, an exploration of mathematics) and was co-author of a book for German as a foreign language, (Die Suche). He often wrote his poems and letters in lower case.Enzensberger also invented and collaborated in the construction of a machine which automatically composes poems (Landsberger Poesieautomat). This was used during the 2006 Football World Cup to commentate on games.Tumult, written in 2014, is an autobiographical reflection of his 1960s as a left-wing sympathizer in the Soviet Union and Cuba.Enzensberger translated Adam Zagajewski, Lars Gustafsson, Pablo Neruda, W. H. Auden and César Vallejo. His own work has been translated into more than 40 languages.
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