Posthumous Papers of a Living Author

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Why posthumous papers? Why of a living author?

There are poetic estates that also happen to be great gifts; but as a rule, literary legacies bear a suspicious resemblance to everything-must-go store clearance sales and cheap bargains. The popularity that such work nonetheless enjoys may indeed derive from the fact that the reading public has a forgivable weakness for a poet who for the last time lays claim to their attention. However the case may be, and whatever questions may arise as to whether such a legacy may be truly worthwhile or merely of some worth, might lead one to suppose — I, at any rate, have decided to forestall publication of my own last literary effects before the time comes when I will no longer have a say in the matter. And the most dependable way to make sure of this is to publish it myself while still alive, whether this makes sense to everyone or not.

But can a poet* still speak of being alive? Has not the poet of the German nation long since outlived himself? It certainly looks that way, and strictly speaking, as far back as I can think, it has always looked that way; the situation has only recently entered a decisive chapter. The age that brought out the pre-fab custom-made shoe, and the tailor-made suit to fit all sizes, also appears to want to bring out the pre-fab poet, who is put together out of ready-made inner and outer parts. Almost everywhere these days, the made-to-measure poet lives completely cut off from life, but even so does not share with the dead the ability to do without roof, food, and drink. Life is so kind to a posthumous request! This fact has had some bearing on the title I chose for this little book and on its creation.

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