Montaignes tower

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Montaigne's Tower is a collection of essays by Uwe Timm . It was published by Kiepenheuer und Witsch in 2015 . Of the ten contained texts, nine appeared in other publications between 1997 and 2012 or were given as lectures or speeches. A text appears in the volume for the first time.

Montaignes tower

This text first appeared in 2011 in a publication by the Architekturmuseum der TU München. In it, Timm describes Michel de Montaigne's study and library room as well as his own study. He takes this as an opportunity to think about “tower” and “cave” as symbols of retreat from the world, but also (in the case of the tower) a view of the world. Using Montaigne's Essais as an example, Timm reflects on writing and its conditions in general.

The gap of light under the door

This is a lecture that Timm gave as part of his Brothers Grimm Professorship in June 2012 in Kassel. In it he relates typical motifs from Grimm's fairy tales to experiences of his own early childhood.

myth

This text is a revised version of Timm's third lecture as part of his poetics lectureship at the University of Bamberg in the summer semester 2005. In it Timm describes his understanding of the term “ myth ” as a “narrative mode of highly condensed meaning”. He refers to that of Nazi propaganda spread myths of Germanness, which were superseded by the zero hour as the founding myth of a new German identity as well as the transfigured memory of the 1968 student movement. With this he shows that myths are morally neutral. He also tells of his father's return from the war and the development of his craft business - this story was passed on as a kind of family founding myth in Timm's family. The literary processing and the influence of such myths on literature are also discussed.

Praise the German language

This text is the opening lecture of the 14th International German Teachers' Conference at the University of Jena in 2009. Timm describes the expressive possibilities of the German language in comparison to other languages ​​and particularly goes into the complicated syntax and tone of voice. He uses Heinrich von Kleist's “Anecdote from the Last Prussian War” as an example. Proceeding from this, he then speaks about the verbalization of thoughts and feelings and presents the amazement at the linguistic possibilities and the "pleasure in language" as a prerequisite for literary writing, since this helps to a more differentiated self-understanding and worldview.

His time expressed in language

The essay was published in 1997 in the anthology Gay Neighbors , edited by Detlef Grumbach . Timm writes about the work of Wolfgang Koeppen, whom he recognizes as an outstanding critic of society in the early Federal Republic. He especially goes into the character Siegfried Pfaffrath from Death in Rome , with whom Koeppen contributed to a better understanding of homosexuality. At the end he gives a personal encounter with Wolfgang Koeppen.

Arts and crafts

In his acceptance speech for the award of the Heinrich Böll Prize in 2009, Timm Böll agrees with the understanding of literary writing as a “manual” activity. He denies any contrast between art and craft. Using Böll's novel Billard at 9.30 am , he depicts his narrative.

Reread the magic mountain

Timm gave this lecture at an event organized by the Zauberberg Foundation at the University of Augsburg . Timm read Thomas Mann's novel The Magic Mountain for the first time in his early twenties and about 50 years later again. He now shows how his understanding of the novel has changed or expanded, concentrating on the love affair between Hans Castorp and Clawdia Chauchat as well as on Thomas Mann's complex, sexual innuendo way of depicting this relationship.

Learn to write

This in time published on May 10, 2012 Text Timm takes a position on the question raised in the title question. He sees (literary) writing as a process similar to the craft of trying out, redesigning and discarding, which can also be learned and practiced. However, practice is not enough; the poet needs an inner disposition to write, which consists of fantasy, radicalism and disturbance in the face of the world and language.

Kafka's passport

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Argentina, Timm gave this lecture at the Universidad Nacional de General San Martín near Buenos Aires . Based on Franz Kafka and his novel America (also known under the title Der Verschollene ), Timm talks about (among other things, national) identity, especially of the Germans.

Travel to the end of the world

This text is the only first publication of the volume. Timm reports on a trip to a refugee camp in Chad in October 2014 and his encounters with various residents. The camp is inhabited by Sudanese , some of whom fled the civil war in their home country over ten years ago. Timm criticizes the EU's isolationist policy and expresses understanding for Africans who try to come to Europe illegally.

The book