I read yesterday that Mike Pinder, a founding member and keyboard player of The Moody Blues, passed away on Wednesday, April 24th, 2024, at his home in Northern California. He was 82 years old and surrounded by his devoted family at the time of his passing. It’s sad to hear that another great musician has left us. Therefore, as I had intended long ago, I thought of writing a memory and experience of Al and me with that band as it lies dearly in my heart.
During the Shah’s time, there have been political restrictions in Iran. The regime was actually afraid of free thinkers and communist ideas but allowed the rest to be free. That’s why we always had the latest music and literature in the marketplace without any problem. That’s why, as we were also searching for the truth, we pursued this topic in every art form. That’s how we got to know the Moody Blues.
They have continued their search in their LPs and always come up with binding and cohesive songs in every vinyl they have published. One must listen to the whole album to get the message. Although these memories warm my heart, I notice that my generation is dying. Of course, it is time to leave, but something will be missing somehow.
Here are the lost ones of this music band: Pinder, who was the only surviving founding member. The drummer, Graeme Edge, passed away in 2021, while the vocalist and flautist, Ray Thomas, died in 2018. The original guitarist, Denny Laine, died last year, and the original bassist, Clint Warwick, died in 2004.
“Yes! As I mentioned earlier, I believe that our generation is slowly disappearing, and I hope that the upcoming generation will be able to improve things better than the current one! Our connection with this band has been strong since we were young, and every time a group member passes away, it’s a painful loss. Now, I’d like to share my thoughts on Mike Pinder.” He created his music and shared his message with the world from a place of spiritual grounding. As he always said, ‘Keep your head above the clouds but keep your feet on the ground.’ His authentic essence uplifted everyone who came into contact with him. His lyrics, philosophy, and vision of humanity and our place in the cosmos will resonate with generations to come.
The piano keys under Mike Pinder’s fingers still resonate in my ears. RIP Melancholy Man.đđ
Let me also dedicate a tribute to Ray Thomas, who opened the threshold of dreams with his magical voice and the sound of his flute.
Raymond Thomas was an English musician, flautist, singer, founding member and composer of the English progressive rock band The Moody Blues. His flute solo on the band’s 1967 hit single “Nights in White Satin” is regarded as one of progressive rock’s defining moments.
Those were the days and will surely remain in our minds as a focal point in our memories.
Here is a music documentary about this unique music band. Thank you for your presence.đđ
Horemheb, which means “Horus is in Jubilation” in Ancient Egyptian, was the final pharaoh of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, ruling for at least 14 years between 1319 BC and 1292 BC. Despite marrying Ay’s daughter Mutnedjmet, Horemheb had no blood relation to the preceding royal family and is believed to have come from a common background.
The Memphite Tomb of Horemheb is situated in the Saqqara necropolis near Memphis, Egypt. The tomb was built before Horemheb became the king, and he did not use it for his burial. Instead, he constructed the Theban tomb KV57 for this purpose. The tomb served as the resting place for Horemheb’s two wives, Mutnedjmet and Amenia.
Horemheb with a falcon-headed god, detail of a mural in the tomb of Horemheb, áčąaqqÄrah, Egypt. Photos.com/Jupiterimagesvia Friend of Saqqara
Relief from Horemheb’s tomb. Receiving ‘gold of honour’ collars. Wikipedia
Here is the adventurous story of the discovery of this divine Jewel, presented by adorable Marie Grillot.đ
Horemheb’s earring – gold and glass paste – 18th or 18th Dynasty from his tomb discovered in Saqqara in 1975 by an Anglo-Dutch mission led by Geoffrey Martin Journal of Cairo Museum Entries – JE 97864
This round earring, with a diameter of 3.9 cm, is made of gold with mostly lacunar glass paste inlays.
This round earring, with a diameter of 3.9 cm, is made of gold with mostly lacunar glass paste inlays. In its centre, in a golden circle and erected on a golden barrette, is a sphinx. He is represented in a walking attitude, which is unusual, to say the leastâŠ
The Sphinx is a “hybrid being” described as an androcephalus when it combines an animal body, a lion, and a human head. “The Egyptian sphinx was a protective and positive entity,” generally representing the “portrait” of the pharaoh to whom it was dedicated or allied.
Horemheb’s earring – gold and glass paste – 18th or 18th Dynasty from his tomb discovered in Saqqara in 1975 by an Anglo-Dutch mission led by Geoffrey Martin Journal of Cairo Museum Entries – JE 97864
The body of the Sphinx, which works in openwork, is delicately chiselled to restore the details of the fur, muscles, and legsâŠ
The royal head is wearing the “blue” crown, which is sometimes compared to a “helmet”. This “khepresh” seems to appear in royal representations in the New Kingdom and, according to Karol Mysliewiec: “the first known royal statue wearing the khepresh is one of Amenhotep III”. If no crown of this type has actually been discovered, we can assume that it was: “probably made of leather or ostrich skin on a rigid, bulb-shaped structure often embellished with yellow gold or white polka dots “. This notion was also very well rendered by the goldsmith who created itâŠ
Horemheb’s earring – gold and glass paste – 18th or 18th Dynasty from his tomb discovered in Saqqara in 1975 by an Anglo-Dutch mission led by Geoffrey Martin Journal of Cairo Museum Entries – JE 97864
The face is both emaciated and prognathous, an impression accentuated by the artificial beard, which lengthens the profile. The long and carried forward neck is decorated with a large ousekh necklace with several rows very cleverly rendered by incisions. This central element is surrounded by two larger and nicely crafted concentric circles. They are composed of large gold chevrons, regularly spaced, in the intervals of which blue glass paste was encrusted, perhaps in several shades. Unfortunately, this colourful decoration has, for the most part, disappeared.
The outer circle is bordered by a lovely twist of gold, which is welded into small rings made up of a series of small shots welded two by two. “The edges of the pendant are decorated with small rings obtained by granulation, some of which had originally been inlaid with tiny cylinders of glass paste. Pendants were undoubtedly suspended from the five rings of the lower register. A sheet of gold shaped like an ousekh necklace was welded to the top of the Jewel,” specifies Daniella Comand (The Illustrated Guide to the Egyptian Museum).
Horemheb’s earring – gold and glass paste – 18th or 18th Dynasty from his tomb discovered in Saqqara in 1975 by an Anglo-Dutch mission led by Geoffrey Martin Journal of Cairo Museum Entries – JE 97864 (photo Orientalia: Vol. 47)
The suspension system is incomplete: in fact, only one of the two rings remains, which were placed on either side of the lobe and in which the tube slid, which, passing through it, ensured fixation.
This unique earring was discovered in the tomb General Horemheb built in Saqqara long before he became pharaoh and ordered the digging of a new hypogeum in the Valley of the Kings.
His tomb in the Memphite necropolis, unearthed in the 19th century and then lost, was “rediscovered” in 1975 by an Anglo-Dutch mission. Led by Geoffrey Martin, he and his team devoted four seasons of excavations⊠During the 1977 mission, this Jewel was found “in a room in the well in the outer courtyard”.
Relief depicting Horemheb receiving the gold reward – limestone – New Kingdom – 1333-1319 BC AD from his tomb in Saqqara – Rijksmuseum van oudheden – RMO – Leiden – museum photo
The Sphinx’s countenance typically reveals Amarna features if its provenance “de facto” associates it with Horemheb. Thus, in “The Wonders of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo”, Francesco Tiradritti presents it as “a pendant representing Akhenaten as a sphinx”. An idea echoed by Nigel Fletcher-Jones who, in “Ancient Egyptian Jewelry”, believes that: “It was probably made during the reign of Akhenaten (around 1352-1336 BC) or his son Tutankhamun ( circa 1336-1327). Furthermore, in “The Great Discoveries of Ancient Egypt”, Nicholas Reeves considers that it “probably comes from a later burial, from the Ramesside period, that of Princess BentĂąnat”.
This earring was registered in the Journal of Entries of the Cairo Museum under the reference JE 97864.
Or the story of a summerkid in the wrong space & time!!
Bodensee by day!
This year, the school holiday began here in our town the last week of March, and as usual, my adorable wife wanted to get out of the dull and constant life. Therefore, a trip was required! We drove to Meersburg am Bodensee in South Germany for a few days. Although it is a beautiful village, it could be much more enjoyable later in Summer. One must be fortunate to have good weather at the end of March, and we weren’t!
The journey was supposed to last around seven hours, but it ended up taking nine due to three intense multiple car collisions that occurred on the way. Fortunately, we were not involved in any of them. We finally arrived at our destination feeling relieved. On the second day, we felt the gust of wind blowing around our ears, but as always, an order is an order: out to the village for a walk!
Read in my face!! I wore everything I had with me, but it was still cold!
However, Mother Nature had mercy the following days, and the weather became a bit endurable.
We met at a museum of old house structures, which showed an interesting method of building houses: pile dwellings (Pfahlbauten) on the water.
It is a world heritage site with a range of exciting Stone Age and Bronze Age artefacts. Of course, much has happened in its history, and these houses have experienced many changes. Here, I found an exciting placard of the different happening there.
It’s written down there: 1922, a time of upheaval or revolt, The Golden Age! It shows that it has not remained immune from these changes, although I don’t know what Howard Carter and his discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb are doing here!!đ€
And the guardian of the museum!
We also took a walk around and visited the pleasant environment.
Just as I suspected, the second part is needed! Many interesting things and actions remain, such as visiting the butterfly garden. So, until next time, thanks for dropping by.
Charlie Chaplin; âA tramp, a gentleman, a poet, a dreamer, a lonely fellow, always hopeful of romance and adventure.â
Why not? I stumbled upon an announcement congratulating Charlie Chaplin on his 135th birthday, and it suddenly caused me to reminisce about my admiration for him and consider writing an essay about my feelings and memories towards him.
I have been in love with this man since childhood. Not only because of his mastery in making incredible and fascinating movies but also because of his great personality, he became my great idol, especially when I began to act in the theatre. As I matured, I overcame my childish pleasures and began to understand his profound thoughts and deep-meaning messages. He imprinted in my head so much that I unconsciously imitated his posture; even his crooked walking can still be seen in my footprints! It is undoubtedly enough known that he initially refused to move to sound films in the 1930s and continued making silent movies. Of course, it was unavoidable, and he had to make his films hearable. But I am convinced he is a pantomime master and believe in his silent wisdom.
Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to meet this great man, though my love and appreciation for him have made me feel an inner connection with him and his life. I can understand his ambitions to get famous, be rich (or out of poverty), and be loved by beautiful women!
He once joked about its necessity and his favour to women, which I could relate to: “All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman, and a pretty girl!”
However, he never treated others unfairly and always tried to rectify his mistakes. After learning about his life story and reviewing his CV, I couldn’t help but wonder how he could create such masterful works while facing numerous legal battles and navigating through turbulent times. He was constantly moving back and forth between the court and the film studio. We have many similarities, and I could imitate him so perfectly that I got nicknamed Charlie the Second!
Of course, nobody is perfect, as he himself might have said it often. Everybody makes mistakes. How well Dr Jung uttered it: Mistakes are, after all, the foundations of truth, and if a man does not know what a thing is, it is at least an increase in knowledge if he knows what it is not. ~Carl Jung, CW 9ii, Para, 429
I could only admit this quote, as I happened to be born in Iran, though I would rather be a citizen of the world.
âWhy havenât you become a citizen (American)?â said another voice. âI see no reason to change my nationality. I consider myself a citizen of the world,â I answered.â – Charlie Chaplin, My Autobiography
The dialogue above comes from the press conference for Monsieur Verdoux, which occurred right after its premiere in New York. Rather than directing their questions at the film, the hostile journalists interrogated Chaplin about his political sympathies, patriotism, tax affairs and refusal to adopt American citizenship.
Chaplin also said: âI consider myself a citizen of the world, an internationalist⊠I just happen to have been born in London, England. It could have been Burma, China, or Timbuktu, but Iâd still be the way I am. Iâd keep my first citizenship because, being an accident of birth, it wouldnât have any real significance. But wherever I live, Iâll conform to the rules, laws and regulations of that country.â – From My Father, Charlie Chaplin by Charles Chaplin Jr.
Today, April 20th is Adolf Hitler’s birthday occasionally! Therefore, I thought it was not false to put this clip.
Every single scene in his movies is extraordinary; for example, in City Lights, a peaceful Tramp tries to earn money in any way he can. I can’t still stop laughing!
He was never drawn to a luxurious lifestyle or wealth. He believed that becoming used to luxury was the saddest thing that could happen to a person. One day, his daughter Geraldine asked him for money to purchase a golden necklace. He agreed to send her the money but also included a letter with a message: “My lovely daughter, I have sent you the money as requested, but please remember that the biggest and most beautiful jewel in the world is the sun that hangs on everyone’s neck!”
Chaplinâs views on the future of mankind at his 70th birthday, April 16, 1959:
I feel I am privileged to express a hope. The hope is this: that we shall have peace throughout the world, that we shall abolish wars and settle all international differences at the conference table, and that we shall abolish all atom and hydrogen bombs before they abolish us. The future of the modern world demands modern thinking. Therefore, let us use the full force of our intelligence instead of obsolete homicidal methods to settle our international differences. (source RTS archives: âInterview et message de Charlie Chaplin Ă lâoccasion de son 70Ăšme anniversaireâ)
And Chaplin’s Modern Times ‘nonsense song’
Charlie Chaplin’s lyrics to âSwing Little Girlâ (the song at the beginning of The Circus, which Chaplin himself sang for the filmâs 1969 rerelease).
He is an unforgettable personality from whom we can learn a lot. I appreciate your presence.đđđ„
Francisco de Holanda – De aetatibus mundi imagines – 1545
I won’t bore you with a lengthy account of my personal life. Still, I will mention that my wife and I had to take care of our cute grandchildren all week due to the lack of support from the German government for kindergarten care and education (the two issues are assumed to be unimportant!). We are also facing a death (redemption!) in the family, which I will write about later.
Amidst all the chaos, I found solace in reading my “holy book”, The Red Book, by Dr. Jung, attempting to nourish my soul. I hope you can find some comfort in reading it, too.đ
[H I ii(r) 2] Cap. ii (P. 130, 131, 132; Liber Primus, A Reader’s Edition)
On the second night, I called out to my soul (Nov. 14, 1913):
I am weary, my soul, my wondering has lasted too long, my search for myself outside myself. Now, I have gone through events and found you behind them, for I made discoveries on my erring through events, humanity, and the world. I found men. And you, my soul, I found again, first in images within men and then you yourself. I found you where I least expected you. You climbed out of a dark shaft. You announced yourself to me in advance in dreams (which were dark to me and which I sought to grasp in my own inadequate way). They burned in my heart, drove me to all the boldest acts of daring, and forced me to rise above myself. You let me see truths of which I had no previous inkling. You let me undertake journeys whose endless length would have scared me if the knowledge of them had not been secure in you.
I wandered for many years, so long that I forgot that I possessed a soul (I belonged to men and things. I did not belong to myself {Black Book 2}). Where were you all this time? Which Beyond sheltered you and gave you sanctuary? Oh, you must speak through me, that my speech and I are your symbol and expression! How should I decipher you?
Who are you, child? My dreams have represented you as a child and as a maiden (and I found you again only through the soul of the woman {Black Book 2}). I am ignorant of your mystery (Look! I bear a wound that is as yet not healed: my ambition to make an impression {Black Book 2}). Forgive me if I speak as in a dream, like a drunkard â are you God? Is God a child, a maiden? (I must tell myself most clearly: does He use the image of a child that lives in everymanâs soul? Were Horus, Tags, and Christ not children? Dionysus and Heracles were also divine children. Did Christ, the God of man, not called himself the son of man? What was his innermost thought when doing so? Should the daughter of man be Godâs name {Black Book 2})? Forgive me if I bobble. No one else hears me. I speak to you quietly, and you know that I am neither a drunkard nor someone deranged, and my heart twists in pain from the wound, whose darkness delivers speeches full of mockery: âYou are lying to yourself! You spoke so as to deceive others and make them believe in you. You want to be a prophet and chase after your ambition.â The wound still bleeds, and I am far from being able to pretend that I do not hear the mockery.
How strange it sounds to me to call you a child, you who still hold the all-without-end in your hand (how thick the earlier darkness was! How impetuous and egoistic my passion was, subjugated by all the diamonds of ambition, the desire for glory, greed, uncharitableness, and zeal! How ignorant I was at the time! Life tore me away, and I deliberately moved away from you, and I have done so far all these years. I recognise how good all of this was, but I thought you were lost, even though I sometimes thought I was lost. But you were not lost. I went on the way of the day. You went invisibly with me and guided me step by step, putting the pieces together meaningfully {Black Book 2}) and letting me see the whole in each part.
You took away where I thought to take hold and gave me where I did not expect anything. Time and again, you brought about fate from new and unexpected quarters. Where I sowed, you robbed me of the harvest, and where I did not sow, you gave it to me again where I would never have foreseen it. You upheld my belief when I was alone and near despair. At every decisive moment, you let me believe in myself.
I appreciate your being here. Have a lovely weekend.đđđ€đčđŠ
This is a deep blue glazed faience kohl tube. A column is inlaid with light blue on one side of the cylinder. This inscription is placed within a light blue frame. It reads, âThe Good God, Lord of the Two Lands, Neb maâat-re (Amenhotep III). The Kingdom, Wife Tiy, granted life.â A shallow indentation forms a border at the bottom of the tube. Condition: Small cracks at the bottom; blue glaze missing on half of the ânebâ sign.
Here is another fascinating story by the brilliant lady Marie Grillot of a deity tube to help compare to divine beauty.
A kohol tube in the names of Amenhotep III and his daughter and wife SatamonâŠ
Kohl tube of Satamon, daughter and the great royal wife of Amenhotep III – earthenware – 18th dynasty formerly in the collection of Reverend William MacGregor – acquired by Lord Carnarvon at Sotheby’s London in 1922 arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1926 by acquisition from the Carnarvon Collection – entry number 26.7.910
This delicate and elegant Egyptian earthenware kohol tube is 14.4 cm high and has a diameter of 1.8 cm. For Jeanne Vandier d’Abbadie (“Egyptian toilet objects at the Louvre Museum”), it was during the New Kingdom that kohol vases or pots which had varied shapes “were very often replaced by kohol tubes. This new form would have been introduced into Egypt under the reign of Tuthmosis III by the Asians. Indeed, it sometimes happens, from this time on, that the servants who assist the lady in her toilet have the Syrian type⊠These young foreigners hand their mistress the kohol tube into which the stylus is immersed⊔
Originally, this tube was a simple Nile reed – hence sometimes its name “flute” -in the hollow of which the makeup was placed. For the wealthier classes of society, artisans were inspired by this natural element. They reproduced it more “luxurious” with more precious materials, ivory, for example, or, in this case, earthenware.
Kohl tube of Satamon, daughter and the great royal wife of Amenhotep III – earthenware – 18th dynasty formerly in the collection of Reverend William MacGregor – acquired by Lord Carnarvon at Sotheby’s London in 1922 arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1926 by acquisition from the Carnarvon Collection – entry number 26.7.910
In ancient times, kohol was the makeup product par excellence; it was inseparable from the concept of beauty, intimately linked to the enhancement of the gaze. Its use has thus transcended these stretched eyes surrounded by black, which, even today, disturbs and fascinates. Made from powdered galena, it not only highlighted the intensity of the “Egyptian” gaze but also had, in this country where the light is so bright, the reverberation so intense, and the sun so burning, a protective function of the eye.
It was applied using a fine stylus – or stick. With a rounded head and a blunt tip, it could be made of hematite, wood (like ebony), ivory, and sometimes bronze or copper. No stylus is presented with this tube; one can imagine it has disappeared. Likewise, nothing indicates the presence or absence of a small “accommodation” fitted inside to store it. The sealing is also absent: in the more “rustic” models, it was done by a plug of fabric or wood.
Kohl tube of Satamon, daughter and the great royal wife of Amenhotep III – earthenware – 18th dynasty formerly in the collection of Reverend William MacGregor – acquired by Lord Carnarvon at Sotheby’s London in 1922 arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1926 by acquisition from the Carnarvon Collection – entry number 26.7.910
In “Amenhotep III, the Sun Pharaoh”, Arielle P. Kozloff provides technical information on its creation: “The colour of the tube is medium blue, which suggests a copper base. This colour was used more frequently towards the end of the reign of Amenhotep III and during the Amarna period, unlike the cobalt-based blues that the king preferred. The dark-coloured inscription is undoubtedly cobalt-based.”
If the object is well made, the vertical inscription presented in a rectangle delimited by a black line in a column of delicate hieroglyphs is precious. Christiane Ziegler (“Queens of Egypt”) translates it thus: “The good god NebmaĂątre [Amenhotep III]; the king’s daughter, the Great Royal Wife Satamon, may she live.” She adds, âWe noticed that the king’s name always accompanies that of the woman in his family mentioned on the kohol tubes.â
When we mention the wife of Amenhotep III, we immediately think of Queen Tiyi⊠Satamon (“The Daughter of Amon”) was the eldest daughter of Tiyi and Amenhotep III. However, explains Christian Leblanc in âQueens of the Nileâ: âShe distinguished herself especially towards the end of the reign of Amenhotep III by herself becoming the wife of her own fatherâ.
Due to our current morality and contemporary conception of the family, understanding and admitting such a union is often tricky. However, well attested since at least the Middle Kingdom, this incest could only exist in the royal and divine world for reasons of an eminently sacred nature. Ordinary mortals did not practise it.
Relief depicting Satamon from the funerary temple of Amenhotep III Petrie Museum, London – UC 14373 – museum photo
“The role of princesses was so important that two of them, Satamon and Isis, became ‘Great Royal Wives’ during the last decade of the reign, which in no way diminishes the status of Queen Tiya. Indeed, the “Theological model of divine families on which that of the king’s family was modelled favoured the adoption of different generations of women. Was Hathor not simultaneously mother, wife and daughter of the god Ra?” (Arielle P. Kozloff). Thus, different museums hold kohol tubes, identical or close to that of Satamon, with the names of Tiyi, of course, and Isis.
Its current history is found in the 20th century in the collection of Reverend William MacGregor (1848-1937). This vicar is a “prominent member of the Egypt Exploration Society and the Institute of Archeology of the University of Liverpool. He patronised numerous excavations, notably those undertaken by Naville, Garstang, and Petrie, for which he frequently and actively participated in the field. His remarkable collection of antiquities is unprecedented compared to any other private collection in England, Europe or America” was then specified in the introduction to the sales catalogue when he decided to separate it. One thousand eight hundred objects will be auctioned at Sotheby’s London from June 26 to July 6, 1922.
Reverend William MacGregor, vicar, prominent member of the Egypt Exploration Society, Institute of Archeology, University of Liverpool and patron of many excavations (Liverpool, 16-5-1848 – Tamworth, 26-2-1937)
Satamon’s kohol tube, presented under lot 255, will be acquired by another great collector, Lord Carnarvon. The same year, it was among the artefacts lent by the British aristocrat for the “Exhibition of Ancient Egyptian Art” at the Burlington Fine Arts Club in London. Percy Newberry, responsible for writing the catalogue, describes it as follows under number 17: “Kohol tube – blue glazed earthenware -, with a vertical line of hieroglyphs in black, giving the names of Amenhotep III and the great royal wife, Sat-amon'”.
Lord Carnarvon died in Cairo on April 5, 1923, shortly after the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. According to a codicil to his will, intended for his wife, Lady Almina, he had expressed his suggestions on the future of his collection in case she had to part with it, which she did, putting Howard Carter in charge of the negotiations.
Lord Carnarvon – George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon (Highclere – RU – 26-6-1866 – Continental-Savoy Hotel, Cairo, Egypt – 5-4-1923) and his wife, Lady Almina
Thanks to the generosity of Edward S. Harkness, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York acquired it in 1926 for $145,000.
This is how this kohol tube bearing the names of Amenhotep III and Satamon arrived in the great New York Museum collections: it was registered under entry number 26.7.910.
As I’m sitting on the chair, looking dumb at the desktop, I can’t think of anything else in my elderly head to leave to myself and you: a look into the younger years and again into old age, a song about loneliness from youth…
And a rock feels no pain And an island never cries
…into abandonment in the aged.
September, I’ll remember A love once new has now grown old.
I ever thank you all for your hearty support.đđ€đ
This year is the 100th anniversary of Kafka’s death, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to write about my impressions of him and his works. Of course, I must mention that it does not have to be his specific birthday or the day he died; I never search the web to find out about an event and write about it, as some are doing on WordPress! The main reason is that I have known him and his works since I was young and always appreciated his solitude before society. Second, I see and hear many documentaries and TV series here in Germany for his anniversary, as the Germans always welcome a genius who writes in their language into their art world. Therefore, to put it bluntly, I had to write this article first in German and translate it into English. Because these days, I hear and read his works all in that language.
Franz Kafka (1883 – 1924), a German-language Bohemian writer, was born in Prague as the son of a middle-class Jewish merchant family.
As per literary scholar Reiner Stach, who studied Franz Kafka for over two decades and published a three-volume Kafka biography with S. Fischer Verlag, Kafka himself was uncertain about his historical classification. Stach quotes Kafka’s famous saying, “I am the end or the beginning.” Kafka intended to express that he may represent the end of a long tradition of classical literature, coming from Goethe, Kleist, and perhaps Flaubert, who was already modern and is an endpoint here. Alternatively, he may start something completely new from the fragments he inherited from tradition instead of falling apart.
Max Brod once said that Kafka was more ambitious than his talent. Maybe he’s right! He helped him, believed in him, and encouraged him to write his thoughts as books.
Franz Kafka and Max Brod
As one of his numerous lovers, Milena JesenskĂĄ, a Czech journalist and writer who was non-Jewish and married, once said to him: I have never met a person like you, and I assume it that’s because there has never existed anyone like you.
He explained it himself:
The enormous world that I have in my head. But how to free me and free them without tearing? And I would rather tear it up a thousand times than hold it back or bury it in me. That’s why I’m here; that’s very clear to me. (Sokel, Walter H. 2001). Man cannot live without a permanent trust in something indestructible within himself, though both that indestructible something and his own trust in it may remain permanently concealed. (Gray, Ronald 1973)
The drama (on stage) is more exhausting than the novel because we see everything that we otherwise only read about. (Source: Kafka, diaries. October 28, 1911)
The fortune that flatters you most is most likely to deceive you.
Franz Kafka was convinced that his writing was inadequate, although he had much more to say. In his short story collection, A Hunger Artist, he wrote: âForgive me everything,â whispered the hunger artist. Only the supervisor, pressing his ear against the cage, understood him. âCertainly,â said the supervisor, tapping his forehead with his finger to indicate to the staff the state the hunger artist was in, âwe forgive you.â âI always wanted you to admire my fasting,â said the hunger artist. âBut we do admire it,â said the supervisor obligingly. âBut you shouldnât admire it,â said the hunger artist. âWell then, we donât admire it,â said the supervisor, âbut why shouldnât we admire it?â âBecause I had to fast. I canât do anything else,â said the hunger artist.
But in my opinion, it’s all doctors prattling! Kafka had (like a few other known artists and geniuses like Dostoevsky, Mozart, Carl Jung, Van Gogh andâŠ) a sensitive mind and soul who looked immense, broader and more profound in human society and the man itself, so deep that the artist himself cannot discern it. He was a Mozart in the matter of literature! Kafka’s writing, whether a letter or a book, had a wealth of words and topics to recount. In his book  Der Process (The Trial), he doesn’t criticize only the political system; K, the main character, is a victim of not being understood by his population. He writes about the trial of his own solitude, his isolation in society and his strangeness towards others.
He even asked Dora Diamant, his faithful companion in his last days in his dying bed, and wanted her to burn all his works after his death!
He died shortly before his 41st birthday in a private sanatorium outside Vienna. A week later, on June 11, 1924, he was buried in a simple ceremony at Prague’s New Jewish Cemetery.
In his final days, he asked his doctor for a lethal dose of morphine. When the doctor refused, he told his doctor: if you don’t do it, you will be my murderer!
lampmagician 
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