Closing out the month, here is Gustav Hochstetter's "Your little ear" with it's accompanying illustration by Lotte Reiniger. I'd like to thank everyone for visiting my blog this month to appreciate a little poetry and art from 1919 and for your patience with my imperfect translations. For those who are interested in this subject and would like to read another one of Hochstetter's poems with an accompanying silhouette illustration, I have another blog post from a presentation I gave at ASIFA Central in 2018 where I cover a little about Hochstetter and Lotte's history, the translation process, and the poem "One must be the most beautiful". You can read it here.
Your Little Ear
Your little ear, the ultimate jewel,
Has no place for regulations nor orders.
Entry is strictly forbidden to the nobles;
Your ear hears what it likes to hear.
And yet it opens up the very best round
So nice and kind to my mouth:
For wishes, sparkling like champagne foam,
There is room for a thousand kisses.
Poem by Gustav Hochstetter (1873 - 1944)
Silhouette Illustration by Lotte Reiniger (1899 - 1981)
Originally published in Venus en Seide, 1919
Translation by Charles Wilson, August 28, 2020
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