Saint Cecelia or The Power of Music (A Legend)

An Unexpected Reunion by Johann Peter Hebel

Newsletter: https://paradisealmanc.substack.com/ Johann Peter Hebel (10 May 1760 – 22 September 1826) was a writer, educator, theologian, and publisher. He lived in what is now the state of Baden-Württemberg, in Southern Germany, close to the border with Switzerland. He first achieved prominence with his collection Alemannic Poems, written in the dialect of the region. He is also known for the short stories tales that appeared in calendars and almanacs, a popular and accessible writing medium at the time. It is from one these collections, A Rhineland Family Treasury, that “Unexpected Reunion” story is taken. Hebel was widely admired during his lifetime and by following generations. In particular, this story was favorite of Franz Kafka, Walter Benjamin, and Elias Canetti.

Saint Cecelia or The Power of Music (A Legend)

From Anecdotes [//Anecdotes ] by Heinrich von Kleist (translation Matthew Spencer) via Sublunary Editions Newsletter: Paradise Almanac [https://paradisealmanc.substack.com/] Patreon: Paradise Almanac [//patreon.com/paradise_almanac] Heinrich von Kleist (18 October 1777 – 21 November 1811) was a soldier, writer, dramatist, publisher, and accused spy. A key figure in the German Romantic movement, he nevertheless saw little popular success during his short but turbulent life. The short story “Saint Cecelia” was first published in October, 1810, in Kleist’s daily newspaper, the Berliner Abendblätter. A little more than a year later, he committed suicide with a friend, Henriette Vogel, on the shore of the Kleiner Wannsee, a lake in forested outskirts of Berlin.