John Henry Mackay (1864-1933) wrote in a variety of styles. This volume of his shorter fiction contains twenty-five stories, ranging in length from one page to the longer novella. In this range, it is essentially complete. The themes also vary considerably, for Mackay did not like to repeat himself. Nevertheless, as might be expected from the biographer of the egoist philosopher Max Stirner, they often illustrate strong individuals. Such are, for example, the protagonists of "The Sybarite" and "Herculean Triflings." Other ...
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John Henry Mackay (1864-1933) wrote in a variety of styles. This volume of his shorter fiction contains twenty-five stories, ranging in length from one page to the longer novella. In this range, it is essentially complete. The themes also vary considerably, for Mackay did not like to repeat himself. Nevertheless, as might be expected from the biographer of the egoist philosopher Max Stirner, they often illustrate strong individuals. Such are, for example, the protagonists of "The Sybarite" and "Herculean Triflings." Other stories probe the foibles of human nature; in this category are "Then He Suddenly Remembered" and "The Voice." A surprising number of stories detail the carrying out of criminal schemes-surprising because Mackay was the most honest of individuals. This is seen in "The Stronger" and "The Great Coup." The longest of these stories, "The Innocent," begins with a murder that is later solved. But it is not a murder mystery; rather, it is "the story of a transformation" (the subtitle), the transformation of an extraordinary, if recognizable, personality into an even more extraordinary and unexpected personality. First published in 1931, the setting gives a fascinating picture of life in Berlin at that time. It is also pioneering in including homosexual characters, whose homosexuality does not form the "problem" of the story, but who are simply there as part of the plot. This would not become usual for several decades. But that is not the most memorable part of this unusual story, which is perhaps Mackay's delicious sarcasm in his portrait of the Great Poet of Germany. Though John Henry Mackay is best known as an anarchist propagandist, this volume is, all together, an excellent introduction to his work. Here, in miniature, are themes expressed at greater length in his novels and lyrically in his poetry. Critics often read his anarchist propaganda-particularly the poems-as literature and unjustly judged him by them. He saw the stories in this volume as a part of his literary legacy, on which he wanted to be judged. They appear here for the first time in English.
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Add this copy of John Henry MacKay to cart. $31.93, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2000 by Xlibris Us.
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Very good. Die Fackel und der Pfeil John Henry Mackay, der deutsche Schriftsteller mit dem schottischen Namen ("Die richtige Aussprache meines Namens? -Wie er geschrieben wird-unter Betonung der zweiten Silbe"), wurde 1864 in Greenock bei Glasgow geboren, wuchs aber in Deutschland auf. Seit 1892 lebte er in Berlin, wo er 1933 starb. Mackay verstand sich als Wiederentdecker Max Stirners, dessen Philosophie eines wohlverstandenen Egoismus für sein Leben und Schreiben bestimmend wurde. Mit der Gedichtsammlung Sturm, erschienen erstmals 1888 "mit der Fackelhand statt eines Verfassernamens auf dem Umschlag", wurde er zum Sänger eines individualistischen Anarchismus, mit dem "Kulturgemälde" Die Anarchisten (1891) zum Aufklärer. Der Autor zahlreicher Gedichte und des ersten Sportromans (Der Schwimmer, 1901) war mit seinen Büchern der namenlosen Liebe, die er unter dem Pseudonym Sagitta" (»der Pfeil«) schrieb, ein Vorkämpfer für die "namenlose Liebe", verstanden als die "Liebe des Mannes zu dem Jüngeren seines Geschlechts". Die Identität mit "Sagitta" hat Mackay zwar zu Lebzeiten nie eingestanden; in Neuausgaben jedoch (wie sie seit den 1970er nicht zuletzt eine neu gegründete Mackay-Gesellschaft betrieb) sollte sie ausdrücklich benannt werden. Über den Autor: Hubert Kennedy, Jg. 1931, hat zahlreiche Einzelstudien zu John Henry Mackay vorgelegt und mehrere seiner Werke ins Englische übersetzt.
