What do you think?
Squandered Advice
The first English translation of a major work of postwar German poetry.
Austrian writer Ilse Aichinger (1921–2016) was a member of the Gruppe 47 writers’ group, which sought to renew German-language literature after World War II. From a wide-ranging literary career that encompassed all genres, Squandered Advice was Aichinger’s sole poetry collection. The book gathers poems written over several decades, yet Aichinger’s poetic voice remains remarkably consistent, frequently addressing us or a third party, often in the imperative, with many poems written in the form of a question. Even though they use free verse throughout, the poems are still tightly structured, often around sounds or repetition, using spare language. Phrases are often fragmentary, torn off, and juxtaposed as if in a collage. Isolated and haunting, the images are at times everyday, at other times surreal, suggesting dreams or memories. The tone ranges from reassuring and gentle to disjointed and disturbing, but the volume was carefully composed by the author into an integral whole, not chronological but following its own poetic logic. This new translation makes Aichinger’s critically acclaimed book, which has inspired poets in the German-speaking world for decades, available to English-language readers for the first time.
Austrian writer Ilse Aichinger (1921–2016) was a member of the Gruppe 47 writers’ group, which sought to renew German-language literature after World War II. From a wide-ranging literary career that encompassed all genres, Squandered Advice was Aichinger’s sole poetry collection. The book gathers poems written over several decades, yet Aichinger’s poetic voice remains remarkably consistent, frequently addressing us or a third party, often in the imperative, with many poems written in the form of a question. Even though they use free verse throughout, the poems are still tightly structured, often around sounds or repetition, using spare language. Phrases are often fragmentary, torn off, and juxtaposed as if in a collage. Isolated and haunting, the images are at times everyday, at other times surreal, suggesting dreams or memories. The tone ranges from reassuring and gentle to disjointed and disturbing, but the volume was carefully composed by the author into an integral whole, not chronological but following its own poetic logic. This new translation makes Aichinger’s critically acclaimed book, which has inspired poets in the German-speaking world for decades, available to English-language readers for the first time.
- GenresPoetry
112 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
Ilse Aichinger
72 books35 followersIlse Aichinger (born 1 November 1921) is an Austrian writer noted for her accounts of her persecution by the Nazis because of her Jewish ancestry.
Aichinger was born in 1921 in Vienna, along with her twin sister, Helga, to a Jewish doctor (her mother) and a Christian teacher. Her mother's family was assimilated, and Aichinger was raised a Catholic.[2] She spent her childhood in Linz and Vienna, where her family was subjected to Nazi persecution starting in 1933. Aichinger began to study medicine in 1945, working as a writer on the side. In her first novel, Das vierte Tor (The Fourth Gate), she wrote of her own experience under Nazism.
After studying for five semesters, Aichinger interrupted her studies in medicine again in 1948 in order to finish her second novel, Die größere Hoffnung (The Greater Hope).
In 1953, she married the German writer Günter Eich.
In 1955, Aichinger was awarded the Immermann-Preis by the city of Düsseldorf and in 1956, she joined the Akademie der Künste of Berlin. In 1957, Aichinger won the Literaturpreis der Freien Hansestadt Bremen. In 1963, Aichinger moved to Großgmain, near Salzburg. In 1971, she was awarded the Nelly-Sachs-Preis.
Reviewing a 1957 volume of her short works in translation, The Bound Man and Other Stories, Anthony Boucher described Aichinger as "a sort of concise Kafka," praising the title story for its "narrative use of multi-valued symbolism."[3]
She was honered the German international literary Petrarca-Preis in 1982. After 1985 Aichinger increasingly retreated from public life.[citation needed] In 1987, she received the Europalia-Literatur-Preis, and in 1991, she was awarded the Großer Literaturpreis of the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste|Bayerischen Akademie der Schönen Künste. Other honors included the Großer Österreichischer Staatspreis für Literatur in 1995 and the 2001 Joseph-Breitbach-Preis, which she received along with W. G. Sebald and Markus Werner.
Aichinger is the aunt of artist Ruth Rix.
Aichinger was born in 1921 in Vienna, along with her twin sister, Helga, to a Jewish doctor (her mother) and a Christian teacher. Her mother's family was assimilated, and Aichinger was raised a Catholic.[2] She spent her childhood in Linz and Vienna, where her family was subjected to Nazi persecution starting in 1933. Aichinger began to study medicine in 1945, working as a writer on the side. In her first novel, Das vierte Tor (The Fourth Gate), she wrote of her own experience under Nazism.
After studying for five semesters, Aichinger interrupted her studies in medicine again in 1948 in order to finish her second novel, Die größere Hoffnung (The Greater Hope).
In 1953, she married the German writer Günter Eich.
In 1955, Aichinger was awarded the Immermann-Preis by the city of Düsseldorf and in 1956, she joined the Akademie der Künste of Berlin. In 1957, Aichinger won the Literaturpreis der Freien Hansestadt Bremen. In 1963, Aichinger moved to Großgmain, near Salzburg. In 1971, she was awarded the Nelly-Sachs-Preis.
Reviewing a 1957 volume of her short works in translation, The Bound Man and Other Stories, Anthony Boucher described Aichinger as "a sort of concise Kafka," praising the title story for its "narrative use of multi-valued symbolism."[3]
She was honered the German international literary Petrarca-Preis in 1982. After 1985 Aichinger increasingly retreated from public life.[citation needed] In 1987, she received the Europalia-Literatur-Preis, and in 1991, she was awarded the Großer Literaturpreis of the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste|Bayerischen Akademie der Schönen Künste. Other honors included the Großer Österreichischer Staatspreis für Literatur in 1995 and the 2001 Joseph-Breitbach-Preis, which she received along with W. G. Sebald and Markus Werner.
Aichinger is the aunt of artist Ruth Rix.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 23, 2020
If there is hope in sadness, then that hope is in Ilse Aichinger's poetry.
Modern, timeless, personal!
Modern, timeless, personal!
Read
January 21, 2020El libro no me ha gustado, no conecto con los poemas aunque no creo que estén mal escritos, simplemente a mí no me llegan y tampoco me acaba de gustar del todo la forma. No sé muy bien por qué, no lo puntúo porque aunque no me ha gustado y en ese sentido le daría una nota baja, no creo que esté mal escrito o que sea un mal libro, y en ese sentido sería injusto.
March 1, 2026
Sind wir von Baum zu Baum
allein geblieben
oder bewegen sich die Schatten,
diese Tröster, aus ihren Netzen
bald herab zu uns?
—
¿Hemos quedado solos
de árbol a árbol,
o descienden de sus redes
pronto hacia nosotros
las sombras, esos consuelos?
allein geblieben
oder bewegen sich die Schatten,
diese Tröster, aus ihren Netzen
bald herab zu uns?
—
¿Hemos quedado solos
de árbol a árbol,
o descienden de sus redes
pronto hacia nosotros
las sombras, esos consuelos?
September 15, 2025
Ein schmales Buch und doch ein ganzes Lebenswerk an Gedichten, von denen viele beim Lesen nachhallen, manche mich aber eher fremd zurückgelassen haben.
March 24, 2023
the last night
and what should come to light
if not the snow trails,
swords down the side of childhood,
and by the woods
apple trees' limbs
rinsed black by the moon,
the chickens, all counted.
request
you needn't shield me
from wrathful gods,
from a wrathful God,
for i won't come to you in fear.
the wheels on the white hill turn.
homer is slumped in his corner.
wake him.
wake him for me
with your last laugh
so that i hear you
when i walk among the wheels
and he sings.
and what should come to light
if not the snow trails,
swords down the side of childhood,
and by the woods
apple trees' limbs
rinsed black by the moon,
the chickens, all counted.
request
you needn't shield me
from wrathful gods,
from a wrathful God,
for i won't come to you in fear.
the wheels on the white hill turn.
homer is slumped in his corner.
wake him.
wake him for me
with your last laugh
so that i hear you
when i walk among the wheels
and he sings.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews