Monthly Archives: June 2013

Dueling Scar

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Scott Abbott

German students, members of mostly right-wing fraternities called “kämpfende Verbindungen,” used to fence fiercely. When they were cut on the face, they tended the wound with salt to make sure there would be a good scar. While my encounter with … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Stations of the Cross in Peter Handke’s Die linkshändige Frau

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Scott Abbott

HandkeOnline (of the Austrian National Library) has just published my analysis of Handke’s story — a look at how the traditional Stations of the Cross are invoked  as structure while being emptied of meaning. The drawing is by Ernst Mach … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Shiny Happy People Holding Hands: A Clarinet Solo

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Scott Abbott

Just talked with my son Tom, a jazz musician working in New York. In the course of the conversation, after some prying on my part, he said he had recorded a song for a video game called Bioshock Infinite. Here’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Interview with Zarko Radakovic

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Scott Abbott

In response to the publication of his Book about Music (with David Albahari), an interview with Zarko Radakovic has appeared HERE. Although I can’t read Serbian, I can see that I appear (my name nicely declined) early in the interview: … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Solstice Massacre

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Scott Abbott

First there was the sun, rising in the notch just minutes after 7 a.m., rising as far south as it will get this year (oops! I meant north, I’ve made this mistake before, wonder why?). Now, slowly, it will climb … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Who Are You?

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Scott Abbott

Who are you? I asked him, sitting on the bank of the Rhine, again upriver from the city center. Cologne is a good place to ask me that question, he answered. It is a city that has repeatedly stretched my … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Draft: Vietnam

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Scott Abbott

We sat on a bench on the bank of the Rhine River, about a kilometer, or was it a full mile, upstream from the Cologne cathedral and train station. He commented on the power of the flowing water, on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

DESIRE

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Scott Abbott

after another day of frustration, days after blooming in pink masses — up to 50 thumb-sized flowers on a stalk — after opening their lascivious throats to the sun, after sending out potent clouds of perfume day after day after day, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

New Book by Zarko Radakovic and David Albahari

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Scott Abbott

Laguna Press in Belgrade is announcing the publication of the new “Book about Music” by Radakovic and Albahari. Click HERE. Here a photo taken during the discussion of the new book. The cover, and also a photo of the two … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Peter Handke’s 1966 Speech at the Princeton Meeting of the Gruppe 47

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Scott Abbott

I  did this translation at the request of an archivist at Vienna’s Burgtheater for an upcoming performance. It is a provocative little speech, available for listening at the web site of the Princeton University German Department. From Text + Kritik: … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments