Friday, May 05, 2017

 

Genesis of Modern Literature

The genesis of modern literature, as explained by Karl Kraus (1874-1936), tr. Jonathan McVity:
In the beginning was the review copy, and a man received it from the publisher. Then he wrote a review. Then he wrote a book which the publisher accepted and sent on to someone else as a review copy. The man who received it did likewise. This is how modern literature came into being.
The original, from Kraus' Sprüche und Widersprüche (Munich: Albert Langen, 1909), p. 182:
Im Anfang war das Rezensionsexemplar, und einer bekam es vom Verleger zugeschickt. Dann schrieb er eine Rezension. Dann schrieb er ein Buch, welches der Verleger annahm und als Rezensionsexemplar weitergab. Der nächste, der es bekam, tat desgleichen. So ist die moderne Literatur entstanden.



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