New Lives

Foreword to the American Edition

TO BOTH MY ASTONISHMENT AND DELIGHT, I have become aware that Enrico Türmer’s story in letters and prose has met with lively interest outside of Germany, a testimony to the fact that a book can be addressed to national, indeed regional, concerns and still speak to the core of human experience.

Over the last year speculation about Türmer has run riot, and has remained speculation.

There is nothing more to be said now about Türmer’s whereabouts than was the case when New Lives was first published in October 2005. We know no more about it than we do about his state of health.

In the meantime, however, Türmer has become an author of literary interest to German readers and, with uncustomary swiftness, his slight volume a topic of academic research. This has brought me praise and recognition as a publisher, and also criticism that in my foreword I ranked Türmer’s prose as “mediocre at best.” Certainly that evaluation can now no longer be advanced. Nonetheless I prefer to maintain a critical skepticism in regard to the author of the letters and prose works presented here.

The American edition has been supplemented with a few additional notes.

I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to John E. Woods, my friend and excellent translator, for what has been an especially stimulating cooperative effort. Last and not least, my thanks to my American publisher for a generous and conscientious reception of this book.

I.S.

New Year’s Day 2008