Gruk
Gruk refers to a type of short poem that was developed by the Danish scientist Piet Hein . The Gruks are characterized by irony, paradoxes, brevity, precise use of language and often a satirical nature, that is what is called aphorisms in German literature .
Piet Hein wrote over 7,000 gruks , most of them in Danish or English, published in 20 volumes. It is sometimes assumed that the name is derived from "GRin" and "sUK" (for "laugh" and "sigh" in Danish), but Piet Hein said he picked the word out of thin air. His Gruks first appeared shortly after the German occupation in April 1940 in the daily newspaper " Politiken " with the signature Kumbel Kumbell . The poems were created as a subtle form of passive resistance against the German occupation.
- Problems worthy
of attack
prove their worth
by hitting back.
- Problems that are worth
to be tackled,
prove their worth,
by locking themselves.
- Den, som kun
tar SPOG for SPOG
og alvor
kun alvorligt,
han og hun
har faktisk fattet
begge dele
Dårligt.
- He can
only make a sharp distinction between joke and seriousness
who thoroughly misunderstands
the nature of the two. (Translated by Piet Hein himself)
Works
- Grooks. Borgens, Copenhagen 1998 ISBN 8741810791
- Collected Grooks I. Borgens, Copenhagen 1999 ISBN 8721018596
- Collected Grooks II. Borgens, Copenhagen 2000 ISBN 8721018618
Web links
- Gruks by Piet Hein (Danish)
- Gruk books by Piet Hein (Danish)
- Gruk books by Piet Hein (English)
- The Grooks by Piet Hein at Agriturismo Villa Stabbia