Hello everyone,
First, I want to apologise to all of you early birds who subscribed to this newsletter a while back and haven't heard anything since—mea maxima culpa. I have been procrastinating for at least six months. But, hey, all good things must begin at some point!
To recap what you may or may not have read before... The vision for this newsletter is to treat it as a public journal of sorts, a digital garden where I'll share whatever thoughts, musings, and discoveries arise from my journey through Kafka's complete works. The focus is on the process and evolution of ideas rather than any final, definitive product.
Obviously, I'm not aiming to produce a quintessential scholarly analysis or thesis on Kafka. No. This endeavour draws inspiration from a remark by literary theorist Roland Barthes, who suggested devoting an entire year to reading (or re-reading) a great literary classic, relating everything in one's life to that work:
Le Livre/la vie (prendre un livre classique et tout y rapporter de la vie pendant un an)1
I do not claim any sort of Kafka expertise, either. There would need to be more than several lifetimes to know everything written about him. Instead, I invite you to join me on a personal exploration that might spark interest in venturing into this maze that Kafka’s work creates. It’s all about losing ourselves and finding our way simultaneously.
Flashback: The first time I encountered Kafka was when I was between 10 and 15 years old, through The Metamorphosis (a present from a German uncle of mine… can’t remember why or on what occasion). While I couldn't fully articulate it then, the story fascinated me on an almost irrational level. Since then, I've read his novels and many stories, revisiting them over the years. However, the part of Kafka's oeuvre that remains largely uncharted territory for me (and for which I'm immensely curious) is his voluminous journals and letters.
What were your first experiences with Kafka, if any? (If this is your first time, I envy you; you’re in for a treat… sort of!)
So, in the coming weeks and months, each newsletter will correspond to a Kafka short story, a chapter from one of his novels, a set of journal entries, or a bundle of letters. I’ll try to follow their chronological order of composition as much as possible. I'll provide commentary, confessions, off-topic ramblings—whatever Kafka arouses within me. It won't always be linear or make perfect sense, but that's part of the experience, is it not?
Next time, I’ll try to answer this question: Why Kafka, and what to expect? Stay tuned. It's sure to be a journey worth taking.
Until next time.
Roland Barthes, par Roland Barthes, Seuil, 2015, ch. ‘Projets de Livres’, p. 205
Hi Leonard,
I am yet to read Kafka. Younger me was not at all interested in Metamorphosis as I hate cockroaches. Older me was slightly moved as science fiction reader who first started with dystopian to give this author a try. Plus I see Oxford is also dedicating this year to get more people interested in his oeuvre.
I’ll start with Metamorphosis and see how I get on and read your posts.