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  • What Must Be Said

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    Michael Keefer
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    Günter Grass's poem “Was gesagt werden muss,” published in the Süddeutschen Zeitung on April 4, 2012, was greeted in the international media with howls of execration. As he had anticipated in his fourth verse paragraph, Grass was widely denounced as an antisemite—and also as a political naïf with a dubious political past of his own, and a poetic incompetent. I thought, in contrast, that Grass's text was courageous, carefully nuanced, and moving. I thought he was quite right to draw attention to the shameful complicity of his own country in building up Israel's stock of nuclear weapons and delivery systems, and right as well to denounce the hypocrisy of the West, and to note that Israeli and American threats of nuclear attacks on Iran have been based on no more than “suspicion” that Iran might be developing a nuclear weapon. Nowhere among the outcries prompted by this text did I see any acknowledgment that Grass's reputation as a writer had included early international recognition of his talents as a poet (translations of a selection of poems from his first three collections of verse were published in the mid-1960s in the Penguin Modern European Poets series). Many of the journalists who denounced Grass's poem had clearly not read it, and by April 6 the only English translation available was a wretched error-laden version published on the website of The Guardian. Nica Mintz and I tried in our rendering to achieve both literal accuracy and a sense of the cadences of Grass's poem. Our version was published on April 7, 2012 at the websites of PULSE Media, http://pulsemedia.org/2012/04/07/what-must-be-said/, and of Mondoweiss. It was subsequently reproduced at twenty-five other websites.

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    Günter Grass's poem “Was gesagt werden muss,” published in the Süddeutschen Zeitung on April 4, 2012, was greeted in the international media with howls of execration. As he had anticipated in his fourth verse paragraph, Grass was widely denounced as an antisemite—and also as a political naïf with a dubious political past of his own, and a poetic incompetent. I thought, in contrast, that Grass's text was courageous, carefully nuanced, and moving. I thought he was quite right to draw attention to the shameful complicity of his own country in building up Israel's stock of nuclear weapons and delivery systems, and right as well to denounce the hypocrisy of the West, and to note that Israeli and American threats of nuclear attacks on Iran have been based on no more than “suspicion” that Iran might be developing a nuclear weapon. Nowhere among the outcries prompted by this text did I see any acknowledgment that Grass's reputation as a writer had included early international recognition of his talents as a poet (translations of a selection of poems from his first three collections of verse were published in the mid-1960s in the Penguin Modern European Poets series). Many of the journalists who denounced Grass's poem had clearly not read it, and by April 6 the only English translation available was a wretched error-laden version published on the website of The Guardian. Nica Mintz and I tried in our rendering to achieve both literal accuracy and a sense of the cadences of Grass's poem. Our version was published on April 7, 2012 at the websites of PULSE Media, http://pulsemedia.org/2012/04/07/what-must-be-said/, and of Mondoweiss. It was subsequently reproduced at twenty-five other websites.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    50 views3 pages

    What Must Be Said

    Uploaded by

    Michael Keefer
    Günter Grass's poem “Was gesagt werden muss,” published in the Süddeutschen Zeitung on April 4, 2012, was greeted in the international media with howls of execration. As he had anticipated in his fourth verse paragraph, Grass was widely denounced as an antisemite—and also as a political naïf with a dubious political past of his own, and a poetic incompetent. I thought, in contrast, that Grass's text was courageous, carefully nuanced, and moving. I thought he was quite right to draw attention to the shameful complicity of his own country in building up Israel's stock of nuclear weapons and delivery systems, and right as well to denounce the hypocrisy of the West, and to note that Israeli and American threats of nuclear attacks on Iran have been based on no more than “suspicion” that Iran might be developing a nuclear weapon. Nowhere among the outcries prompted by this text did I see any acknowledgment that Grass's reputation as a writer had included early international recognition of his talents as a poet (translations of a selection of poems from his first three collections of verse were published in the mid-1960s in the Penguin Modern European Poets series). Many of the journalists who denounced Grass's poem had clearly not read it, and by April 6 the only English translation available was a wretched error-laden version published on the website of The Guardian. Nica Mintz and I tried in our rendering to achieve both literal accuracy and a sense of the cadences of Grass's poem. Our version was published on April 7, 2012 at the websites of PULSE Media, http://pulsemedia.org/2012/04/07/what-must-be-said/, and of Mondoweiss. It was subsequently reproduced at twenty-five other websites.

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    [GnterGrass'spoemWasgesagtwerdenmuss,publishedintheSddeutschenZeitungonApril4,2012,was

    greetedintheinternationalmediawithhowlsofexecration.Ashehadanticipatedinhisfourthverseparagraph,
    Grasswaswidelydenouncedasanantisemiteandalsoasapoliticalnafwithadubiouspoliticalpastofhis
    own,andapoeticincompetent.
    Ithought,incontrast,thatGrass'stextwascourageous,carefullynuanced,andmoving.Ithoughthewas
    quiterighttodrawattentiontotheshamefulcomplicityofhisowncountryinbuildingupIsrael'sstockof
    nuclearweaponsanddeliverysystems,andrightaswelltodenouncethehypocrisyoftheWest,andtonotethat
    IsraeliandAmericanthreatsofnuclearattacksonIranhavebeenbasedonnomorethansuspicionthatIran
    mightbedevelopinganuclearweapon.
    NowhereamongtheoutcriespromptedbythistextdidIseeanyacknowledgmentthatGrass'sreputation
    asawriterhadincludedearlyinternationalrecognitionofhistalentsasapoet(translationsofaselectionof
    poemsfromhisfirstthreecollectionsofversewerepublishedinthemid1960sinthePenguinModernEuropean
    Poetsseries).
    ManyofthejournalistswhodenouncedGrass'spoemhadclearlynotreadit,andbyApril6theonly
    EnglishtranslationavailablewasawretchederrorladenversionpublishedonthewebsiteofTheGuardian.
    NicaMintzandItriedinourrenderingtoachievebothliteralaccuracyandasenseofthecadencesof
    Grass's poem. Our version was published on April 7, 2012 at the websites of PULSE Media,
    http://pulsemedia.org/2012/04/07/whatmustbesaid/, and of Mondoweiss. It was subsequently reproduced at
    twentyfiveotherwebsites.]

    [Index:GnterGrass,Israel,Iran]
    [Date:April2012]

    Whatmustbesaid

    GnterGrass

    WhyhaveIkeptsilent,silentfortoolong
    overwhatisopenlyplayedout
    inwargamesattheendofwhichwe
    thesurvivorsareatbestfootnotes.
    Itsthatclaimofarighttofirststrike
    againstthosewhounderaloudmouthsthumb
    arepushedintoorganizedcheering
    astriketosnuffouttheIranianpeople
    onsuspicionthatunderhisinfluence

    anatombombsbeingbuilt.
    ButwhydoIforbidmyself
    tonamethatotherlandinwhich
    foryearsalthoughkeptsecret
    ausablenuclearcapabilityhasgrown
    beyondallcontrol,because
    noscrutinyisallowed.
    Theuniversalsilencearoundthisfact,
    underwhichmyownsilencelay,
    Ifeelnowasaheavylie,
    astrongconstraint,whichtodismiss
    courtsforcefulpunishment:
    theverdictofAntisemitismiswellknown.
    Butnow,whenmyowncountry,
    guiltyofprimalandunequalledcrimes
    forwhichtimeandagainitmustbetasked
    onceagain,inpurecommerce,
    thoughwithquicklipswedeclareit
    reparations,wantstosend
    Israelyetanothersubmarine
    onewhosespecialityistodeliver
    warheadscapableofendingalllife
    wheretheexistenceofevenone
    nuclearweaponremainsunproven,
    butwheresuspicionservesforproof
    nowIsaywhatmustbesaid.
    ButwhywasIsilentforsolong?
    BecauseIthoughtmyorigin,
    markedwithanineradicablestain,
    forbadementionofthisfact
    asdefinitetruthaboutIsrael,acountry
    towhichIamandwillremainattached.
    WhyisitonlynowIsay,
    inoldage,withmylastdropofink,
    thatIsraelsnuclearpowerendangers
    analreadyfragileworldpeace?
    Becausewhatbytomorrowmightbe
    toolate,mustbespokennow,
    andbecauseweasGermans,already

    burdenedenoughcouldbecome
    enablersofacrime,foreseeableandtherefore
    nottobeeradicated
    withanyoftheusualexcuses.
    Andadmittedly:Imsilentnomore
    becauseIvehaditwiththeWestshypocrisy
    andonecanhopethatmanyotherstoo
    mayfreethemselvesfromsilence,
    challengetheinstigatorofknowndanger
    toabstainfromviolence,
    andatthesametimedemand
    apermanentandunrestrainedcontrol
    ofIsraelsatomicpower
    andIraniannuclearplants
    byaninternationalauthority
    acceptedbybothgovernments.
    Onlythuscanonegivehelp
    toIsraelisandPalestiniansstillmore,
    allthepeoples,neighbourenemies
    livinginthisregionoccupiedbymadness
    andfinally,toourselvesaswell.

    WasgesagtwerdenmusspublishedinSddeutschenZeitung(4April2012)
    TranslationbyMichaelKeeferandNicaMintz

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