New Translations Catch Feeling of Else
Lasker-Schüler's Poetry
These short, lyric poems are heartbreakingly beautiful examples
of the work of a woman who ought to be much better known to Jewish
readers. Born in the the Rhineland in 1869, Else Lasker-Schueler
became first a painter and then a poet, often illustrating her
own books. She was called the "greatest lyric poet of modern Germany" in
the 1920s and won the prestigious Kleist Prize in 1932--at the
age of 62.
Her early poems appear in two books, "Song of the Blessed" and "Hebrew
Ballads." While written in German, they strongly reflect her Jewish
heritage as well as her Expressionist style; in fact, she was part
of that movement, which flourished in Berlin oin the early years
of the century.
By 1932, Lasker-Schueler had lost not only her parents and sister,
but also her husband and only son. When she was struck by a Nazi
with an iron bar--in the very year she had won the prize--she didn't
even go home. Instead, she ran to the railway station and arrived
penniless in Zurish. After she was arrested for vagrancy, the Swiss
literary public organized benefits for her.
By 1939, Lasker-Schueler had mover to Jerusalem, whose fantastic
image had been the dream of her childhood and the subject of her
prayers and poems, but without an appreciative or understanding
public, she was neglected. She died there in 1945.
Besides being an artist, she costumed herself as many characters
as she went about her daily life. When reading her poems, she often
dressed as "Prince Jussuf of Thebes" and accompaniewd herself with
flute, harmonica, and bells.
The poems in this volume are printed with the original German
on one side of the page and the English on the facing page. There
have been earlier translations, but these seem to me to catch the
music, rhythm, and mystical feeling of the original. Here is a
poem written before 1920 from her book "Hebrew Ballads:"