The Possible is Monstrous

by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Daniele Pantano (Translator)

The Possible Is Monstrous fills a crucial gap for English-speaking readers and scholars interested in the Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Genres: Poetry

216 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 1993

About the author

Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921 – 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist.

Dürrenmatt was born in the Emmental (canton of Bern), the son of a Protestant pastor. His grandfather Ulrich Dürrenmatt was a conservative politician. The family moved to Bern in 1935. Dürrenmatt began to study philosophy and German language and literature at the University of Zurich in 1941, but moved to the University of Bern after one semester. In 1943 he decided to become an author and dramatist and dropped his academic career. In 1945-46, he wrote his first play, "It is written". On October 11 1946 he married actress Lotti Geissler. She died in 1983 and Dürrenmatt was married again to another actress, Charlotte Kerr, the following year.

He was a proponent of epic theater whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author gained fame largely due to his avant-garde dramas, philosophically deep crime novels, and often macabre satire. One of his leading sentences was: "A story is not finished, until it has taken the worst turn". Dürrenmatt was a member of the Gruppe Olten.

Reviews

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Becoming Aware
By Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States)

"Everything is dragged along and everyone gets caught somewhere in the course of events. We are all collectively guilty...Comedy alone gets at our problems." These words by Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921 - 1990) explore one of the aspects of where this great Swiss playwright, writer and philosopher found his niche. Though everyone knows Dürrenmatt's most famous work for the theater - THE VISIT - and many are familiar with his other plays and essays, his poetry has eluded the general public until now, when the very gifted Swiss poet Daniel Pantano (THE OLDEST HANDS IN THE WORLD) has published his translations of the poems collectively called THE POSSIBLE IS MONSTROUS.

Everyone who loves fine poetry will want to own this excellent volume. Not only is Dürrenmatt's poetry pertinent and eloquent, but Pantano's translations add a special quality to the poems. It is a match few could equal: not only is it the work of one Swiss translated by a fellow Swiss, but Dürrenmatt seems to have been a significant source of inspiration for Pantano's own fine poetry. Example:
Rules of the Game

In the grimmest of moments
don't ask for the impossible
Play by the rules

Don't judge the judged
You're one of them
Don't interfere, you're
already part of it

Be human, step back
We all get what we deserve
You can't save anybody

There's no injustice
only the terrible

You're what happens
It serves you right

Daniele Pantano grows with each publication of his, and this translation of THE POSSIBLE IS MONSTROUS is superb.

Grady Harp

[Nicolas W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discovered this book in the poetry section of the book store and the painting on the cover caught my eye, never heard of the author or heard of him as a dramatist. Some of the poems are dark and rather impactful, others just a little lackluster for my tastes. All the same, still happy to include it in my poetry collection.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some really solid poems in here that I liked a lot, but the longer ones were really boring, and that made the collection as a whole much less enjoyable.