Tag Archives: Franz Kafka

Weeding out some stuff

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

“My relationship with cats has saved me from a deadly and pervasive ignorance. I prefer cats to people, for the most part. Most people aren’t cute at all, and if they are cute they very rapidly outgrow it.” William S. … Continue reading →

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Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Franz Kafka, born on this day in 1883. “You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself … Continue reading →

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A Kafka Centennial

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Kafka: Making of an Icon is an upcoming exhibition that will mark the centennial  of the great writer’s death and celebrate not only his books and creativity, but also his continuing inspiration for new literary, theatrical and artistic creations around … Continue reading →

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feel the onward rushing power of the train

Posted on August 23, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

 

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“A Society of Scoundrels”

Posted on August 1, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“A Society of Scoundrels” by Franz Kafka Translated by Michael Hofmann There was once a society of scoundrels, or rather not scoundrels per se, just ordinary, average people. They always stuck together. When one of them had perpetrated some rascally … Continue reading →

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A Hunger Artist

Posted on July 3, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

In honor of Franz Kafka’s 140th birthday, here’s his popular short story “A Hunger Artist.” Published just two years before Kafka’s death from tuberculosis in 1924, the story is often viewed as a reflection of his illness and his struggles … Continue reading →

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Not only Caturday, but Caturday nonetheless

Posted on June 10, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“I used to think I was the strangest person in the world, but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways … Continue reading →

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everything at heaven’s gate is broken up into its component parts

Posted on February 25, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“A Society of Scoundrels” by Franz Kafka Translated by Michael Hofmann There was once a society of scoundrels, or rather not scoundrels per se, just ordinary, average people. They always stuck together. When one of them had perpetrated some rascally … Continue reading →

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“what I said was that writing makes everything clearer and worse.”

Posted on January 27, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“Not His Best” by Joy Williams from 99 Stories of God Franz Kafka once called his writing a form of prayer. He also reprimanded the long-suffering Felice Bauer in a letter: “I did not say that writing ought to make everything … Continue reading →

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Just a postcard from Kafka

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

I recently stumbled on this postcard from the German National Library that is dated 1918 from Franz Kafka to his publisher Kurt Wolff. Personally, I never sent postcards to my publisher, but then again he was a terrible person. And … Continue reading →

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