The joys and sorrows of a well-read
The joys and sorrows of a well-read. From Dr. Karl May is a self-deprecating, humorous autobiographical sketch by Karl May .
Text history
The text first appeared in two parts in the Deutsches Hausschatz in 1896 . A reprint of the sketch appeared in Koch's Bayerischer Schulmentor for the school year 1899/1900 in 1899. The story by Franz Kandolf was heavily edited by Karl May Verlag in 1927 and was available until 1996 under the title Old Shatterhand a. D. in The Magic Water , Volume 48 of the Collected Works . In 1982 the Karl May Society brought out the reprint volume Kleinere Hausschatz-Erzählungen , which contains a reprographic reprint of the first edition.
In the booklet Karl May. A philological pamphlet , which appeared in 1988 in connection with the first volumes of the Historisch-Kritische Karl May edition , the joys and sorrows are contained in the new sentence, as well as in the Karl May Raben published by Haffmans Verlag. An excerpt from the text appeared in 1992 under the heading Signalement in Karl May in Leipzig No. 8 . Since 1997 the sketch has been found under its original title in Volume 79 of the Collected Works , Old Shatterhand in the homeland .
In the 1990s Weltbild Verlag published the volume Mein Leben und Streben in the series Weltbild Collector's Edition , in which, in addition to May's autobiography , the joys and sorrows are also contained in a modernized form. In 2001 Mays' autobiographical sketch was reprinted in PM History 5/2001 . Another reprint took place in 2009 in the anthology Nothing but the World. Reports and eyewitness accounts from 2500 years . The text is also contained in the special volume Ein Reader from 2012, a licensed edition of which was also published by Weltbild.
content
May describes in a self-deprecating and humorous way his everyday life as a writer who was besieged by fans (for example on a “normal” weekday) and gives Hausschatz readers an insight into his personal circumstances. During the course of the day, the events become more and more slapstick-like and surreal, until finally a visitor named Kraft climbs the balcony of the Villa “Shatterhand” and greets the writer in broken German from his imagined character Sir David Lindsay. It is believed that May wiped out his competitor Robert Kraft here.
In any case, the mixture of real biography with fictional personalities and events is typical of Karl May's endeavor, which was in bloom at the time, to portray himself as identical with his first-person narrators Old Shatterhand and Kara Ben Nemsi (see Old Shatterhand legend).
In this text the second stanza of the Ave Maria is published for the first time .
The first print is garnished with a total of eight photographs of May, which the author as u. a. Old Shatterhand and Kara Ben Nemsi show.
evaluation
May researcher Christoph F. Lorenz says:
- “By today's standards, no one is bothered by May's little impostures and misleading labels such as the false doctorate or the at least suspicious-sounding letters to the editor. For this reason the publisher decided in 1997 to publish the joys and sorrows of a much-read in volume 79 of the collected works , Old Shatterhand in the homeland , again in the original version. When volume 48, Das Zauberwasser , was redesigned in 2000, the edited version of Old Shatterhand aD was omitted. This took account of the criticism that was understandable from the current perspective. Some of the decisions made by the editors from 1927 may now seem contestable or unnecessary, but one thing should not be overlooked: When May's whispering in joys and sorrows was shortened or whitewashed, it was under the impression of the still smoldering May fight and out of piety the writer who is not always quite skilful in his self-portrayal. In the case of Franz Kandolf in particular , one can say that his motivation was always his great love for Karl May. "
source
- Entry in the Karl May Wiki
literature
- Herbert Meier: 10. The joys and sorrows of a well-read. In: Karl May: Smaller house treasure stories. Reprint of the Karl May Society 1982, p. 35 f. ( Online version )
- Hainer Plaul: Illustrated Karl May Bibliography. With the participation of Gerhard Klußmeier . Edition Leipzig 1988. ISBN 3-361-00145-5 (or) KG Saur Munich – London – New York – Paris 1989. ISBN 3-598-07258-9 (contains the works published during May's lifetime)
- Hans Wollschläger : The liberation from the diffuse. Karl May's “Joys and Sorrows” in the course of the history of the text. In: Karl May. A philological pamphlet. Greno Verlag Nördlingen 1988. Reprinted in: Hans Wollschläger: Karl May. Outline of a broken life. Interpretation of personality and work. Criticism. Verlag der Kunst, Dresden 1990.
- Walther Ilmer: The joys and sorrows of a well-read. In: Gert Ueding (Ed.): Karl-May-Handbuch. Publishing house Königshausen & Neumann GmbH Würzburg 2001, p. 436 f. ISBN 3-8260-1813-3
- Christoph F. Lorenz: From the jewel island to Mount Winnetou. Notes on three text edits . In: The cut diamond. Karl-May-Verlag Bamberg-Radebeul 2003, p. 209 ff., Especially p. 225 ff.
- Albrecht Götz von Olenhusen: Change of position: With joy and with suffering. Karl May, the Pustet publishing house and the public. A homestory of celebrities in the "German House Treasure" from 1896 . In: Yearbook of the Karl May Society 2013 , p. 93 ff.
Web links
- The original text online on the Karl May Society website .
- The entry in the book database .
Remarks
- ↑ Plaul / Klußmeier, p. 212, no. 285.
- ↑ Hermesmeier / Schmatz, pp. 242–244, no. GW48.
- ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Old-Shatterhand-Legende
- ↑ http://www.karl-may-wiki.de/index.php/Kostümfotos
- ↑ Christoph F. Lorenz: From the Jewel Island to Mount Winnetou ... , 2003, p. 236.