Stories of mr keuner bertolt brecht biography

German author Bertolt Brecht () is best known as a dramatist, but is also one of the most significant German writers of poetry and prose in the 20th century.

Geschichten vom Herrn Keuner Stories of Mr. Keuner is a series of short stories, aphorisms and commentary written by the great dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht from about to his death in They give advice and comments about all aspects of life and go far beyond the purely political themes one usually associates with Brecht. The advice is often simply about how to relate to other human beings and how to live ones daily life.

Politics is however of course not absent at all and is a prominent recurring theme. The stories are very short, ranging from one sentence or a paragraph to two pages at the most. The stories are both about and told by Mr. Keuner therefore the ambiguous title and serve to illustrate the points made by the title character. Keuner is a clever, if not wise man, a humanist and a thinker, who has opinions on most things and is most often seen in the role of the teacher and sage.

Humour is another important element and are present in many, if not most of the stories.

The first English translation of the great playwright’s discursive semifictionalized observations on German life and politics, as spoken by the eponymous Keuner (his name from .

But one should also keep in mind that the stories are more supposed to act as incitement to further thinking, than an infallible guide. Keuner is far from always a sympathetic character. For all his non-conformist and revolutinary thinking, Keuner also advocates a cowardly submission to the powers that be when necessary, something that Brecht practiced in real life at times.

The Keuner stories are despite this very much worth reading. The stories have been translated into English by Martin Chalmers.