Review (PDF) The Seasons Of The Soul: The Poetic Guidance And Spiritual Wisdom Of Herman Hesse
Vowing at an early age “to be a poet or nothing at all,” Hermann Hesse rebelled against formal education, focusing on a rigorous program of independent study that included literature, philosophy, art, and history. One result of these efforts was a series of novels that became counterculture bibles that remain widely influential today. Another was a body of evocative spiritual poetry. Published for the first time in English, these vivid, probing short works reflect deeply on the challenges of life and provide a spiritual solace that transcends specific denominational hymns, prayers, and rituals. The Seasons of the Soul offers valuable guidance in poetic form for those longing for a more meaningful life, seeking a sense of homecoming in nature, in each stage of life, in a renewed relationship with the divine. Extensive quotations from his prose introduce each theme addressed in the book: love, imagination, nature, the divine, and the passage of time. A foreword by Andrew Harvey reintroduces us to a figure about whom some may have believed everything had already been said. Thoughtful commentary throughout from translator Ludwig Max Fischer helps readers understand the poems within the context of Hesse’s life.From the Trade Paperback edition.
File Size: 2958 KB
Print Length: 133 pages
Publisher: North Atlantic Books (October 11, 2011)
Publication Date: October 11, 2011
Sold by: Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B004JN1CYW
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray: Not Enabled
Word Wise: Not Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: #628,177 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store) #30 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > German #222 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Religious & Inspirational #226 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Regional & Cultural > European > German
I was excited to purchase and receive this collection, especially after seeing good reviews on . Hesse has been perhaps my favorite author since reading Siddartha as a teenager, and I keep returning to Steppenwolf, Demian, along with Journey to the East, long after having read each of these for the first time. While there is no doubt, to my mind, that Hesse was one of the greatest writers of his time, the translation you will find here is severely lacking. What struck me as immediately telling about its quality was the sense that I was reading cheap new-age banter, comprised by the foreward and other exegetical material. This is divided into snippets from both the translator and another person, both of whom seem to offer some fine and accurate remarks, but also a good deal of exposition that is frankly overdone and sappy. The biggest disappointment, however, was the fact that many poems which rhyme in the original German have not retained this feature in the English. Nor have they retained their proper rhythm. I can acknowlege that this would have been no simple feat, but such is the work of good translation. For an example, consider "Stufen," one of Hesse's finest cosmic poems, the one which the collection ends in. Fischer translates the title as "Stages," which gets at the meaning of the poem, but it is precisely this sort of straying from the letter of the piece that illuminates the sort of liberties he's already taken to interpret for the reader. Here's the original German for you:Wie jede Blüte welkt und jede JugendDem Alter weicht, blüht jede Lebensstufe,Blüht jede Weisheit auch und jede TugendZu ihrer Zeit und darf nicht ewig dauern.
The Seasons of the Soul: The Poetic Guidance and Spiritual Wisdom of Herman Hesse Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors and Literary Agents: Who They Are, What They Want, How to Win Them Over (Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents) Soul Mates & Twin Flames: Discover a Timeless Love, Fulfill Your Soul's Purpose, and Experience a Higher Level of Love (Soul Mates, Twin Flames, Karmic ... Spirits, Endless Love, Spiritual Partner) Cheap & Best Chicken Coop Plan Guidance: Chicken Coop Plan Guidance Walland (Hesse Creek Series) (Volume 1) American Risorgimento: Herman Melville and the Cultural Politics of Italy Inventing Chemistry: Herman Boerhaave and the Reform of the Chemical Arts (Synthesis) A Love for All Seasons (The Seasons Series Book 5) Scandalous Seasons: The First Three Scandalous Seasons Novels Scandalous Seasons: The Last Three Scandalous Seasons Novels Sufi Symbolism: The Narbakhsh Encyclopedia of Sufi Terminology, Vol. IX: Spiritual Faculties, Spiritual Organs, Knowledge, Gnosis, Wisdom and Perfection The Soul of Discipline: The Simplicity Parenting Approach to Warm, Firm, and Calm Guidance- From Toddlers to Teens The Wisdom of Birch, Oak, and Yew: Connect to the Magic of Trees for Guidance & Transformation Lyric Pieces, Op. 12 and Poetic Tone-pictures, Op. 3: Easier Piano Pieces 11 (Easier Piano Pieces (ABRSM)) Poetic Trespass: Writing between Hebrew and Arabic in Israel/Palestine The Broadview Anthology of Victorian Poetry and Poetic Theory: Concise Edition The Teachers and Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms The Poet's Dictionary: A Handbook of Prosody and Poetic Devices Popol Vuh: Literal Poetic Version Translation and Transcription Poetic Justice
