Early writings, 1910-1917

de Walter Benjamin

In this addition to a project to bring to English-speaking audiences the work of Benjamin (1892-1940), an important German-Jewish philosopher and critic, this annotated translation compiles a selection of his shorter writings written between the ages of 17 and 25. Eiland (literature, Massachusetts Institute of Technology) traces these poems, short stories, and essays back to Benjamin's high school/German Youth Movement days. Following biographical and cultural context, the chronologically-arranged selections span his interests in creativity, educational reform, religion, "the metaphysics of youth," and the works of Holderlin, Balzac, and Dostoevsky, among others.