quot; From finitudquot; Grass literary gift one year after his death – W Radio

Carmen Siguenza.

Madrid, April 13 (EFE) .- Today a year ago nobel dying German Günter Grass, a date that coincides with several tributes and publication in Spanish of his posthumous book “the finitude” written in his later years as a diary, with essays, poems and drawings, and where the old age and death with irony faces.

Posted by Alfaguara and translated by academic Miguel Saenz, “finitude” is goodbye, with noise and without reservation, the German writer; one last heartfelt cry against the hypocrisy of the world, political or falsity and a reflection on the decrepitude and death, written with the acid and black humor that characterizes the author of “The Tin Drum”.

Günter Grass, who died on April 13, 2015 in Lübeck (Germany), spent the last years of his life to writing and another of his early passions draw.

He had a strong background as a sculptor and cartoonist; why his latest book is studded with his pencil drawings, playing with feathers, leaves, roots, tubers, birds or shells. Images of nature and his pipe or hands and including a self-portrait.

“Farewell to the Flesh,” “When I lost my smell and taste,” “Fear of loss”, “The end “or” Mama “, this dedicated to the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, are some of the titles of the poems and texts of the book, which also reminds friends and opens with a dry, sharp proclaims:” Being banned “<. /> p>

in this text, the author of “Peeling the onion” speaks of decay and says: “When the heart, lungs and kidneys forced again and again to the pipe smoker to go to the repair shop , where he, as unfortunately I, with a drip position, had to swallow a growing pile of pills, colors, oblong and round, whispering legends of their side effects … “.

A look about himself and about the world today, smudged with some melancholy and nostalgic but never sentimental, ranging from euphoria to clear awareness of the finiteness of time: “Jump out of bed and sharpened pencil clarify anything oscillating ; that’s the advantage of old age, sleep is a waste of time, “he writes in a poem entitled,” After an endless torment. “

Gunter Grass, Prince of Asturias Prize, analyzes current situations and exclaims injustice and dedicated, for example one of his poems to the “Xenophobia”: “When millions of expelled / with little luggage / and heavy memories / had to stay to the force / in the rest of the country …” <. /> p>

the posthumous book of Grass, conceived by the author as his farewell and loaded with autumns and calendar sheets falls, was published a few months ago in Germany with great success of readers and critics. it was even described by some as “the best book in years of Grass” or “a farewell full of humor. The book as a work of art “

An exciting work is published in Spanish coinciding with the first anniversary of the death of the writer all a tribute to the German writer who said:..” Pain is the main cause that makes me work and write “and to be completed with the tribute that will receive the Goethe-Institut in Madrid, on the 18th.

in this event, where he also presented” finitude ” will present the translator of the play, Miguel Saenz, in a program that will conclude with the reading of excerpts volume by the actor and academic José Luis Gómez. EFE

crs / mcm / AGF