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You ask of my companions. Hills, sir, and the sundown, and a dog large as myself, that my father bought me. They are better than beings because they know, but do not tell; and the noise in the pool at noon excels my piano. I have a brother and a sister; my mother does not care for thought, and father, too busy with his briefs to notice what we do. He buys me many books, but begs me not to read them, because he fears they joggle the mind. They are religious, except me, and address an eclipse ev'ry morning, whom they call their "Father." But I fear my story fatigues you. I would like to learn. Could you tell me how to grow, or is it unconveyed, like melody or witchcraft?
About the headline (FAQ)
Note: From a letter from Emily Dickinson to Thomas Wentworth Higgins, dated April 25, 1862. The line-breaks are arbitrary; this is a prose text.
Text Authorship:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, written 1862 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Lee Hoiby (1926 - 2011), "A letter", 1988 [voice and piano], from Four Dickinson Songs, no. 1. [ sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2017-05-02
Line count: 23
Word count: 132
Sie wollen etwas über meine Gefährten wissen. Das Bergland, Sir, der Sonnenuntergang, sowie ein Hund, so groß wie ich, den mir mein Vater kaufte. Sie sind besser als menschliche Wesen, weil sie verstehen, dies aber nicht äußern; der Lärm im Pool zur Mittagszeit übertönt mein Klavier. Ich habe einen Bruder und eine Schwester; meine Mutter macht sich keine Gedanken, und Vater ist zu stark mit seiner Korrespondenz beschäftigt, um zu merken, was wir tun. Er kauft mir viele Bücher, bittet mich jedoch, sie nicht zu lesen, weil er befürchtet, dass sie Geist und Seele erschüttern. Sie sind gläubig, außer mir, und wenden sich allmorgendlich an etwas Verfinstertes, das sie ihren „Vater“ nennen. Ich lerne gern hinzu. Könnten Sie mir beibringen, mich weiterzuentwickeln, oder ist es nicht kommunizierbar, wie Gotteslob oder das Zaubern mit Worten?
About the headline (FAQ)
Auszug aus einem Brief Emily Dickinsons an Thomas Wentworth Higgins, vom 25. April 1862
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2018 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
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Based on:
- a text in English by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, written 1862
This text was added to the website: 2018-08-09
Line count: 22
Word count: 134