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Ilya O. Dementev

What does “now” mean? Riekus Waskowsky’s historiosophical experiments in the poem cycle “Das alte Königsberg”

DOI
10.5922/2225-5346-2026-3-5
Pages
79-94
Königsberg history Dutch poetry Riekus Waskowsky

Abstract

This article analyses the poem cycle “Das alte Königsberg” (“Old Königsberg”) by the Dutch poet Riekus Waskowsky (1932—1977), from his collection "Tant pis pour le clown" (1966). In the four poems of the cycle, the poet describes four events from the everyday life of Königsberg in the 16th and 17th centuries: the murder of a student, the celebration of a university anniversary, an operation to remove a knife from a patient’s stomach, and the execution of a criminal. The source of the facts underlying the narrative is identified — Caspar Stein’s book “Old Königsberg.” Critics have concluded that the cycle under discussion primarily reflects Waskowsky’s interest in history and his compassion for its victims. I also attempt to demonstrate that “Das alte Königsberg” can be interpreted as an illustration of Friedrich Nietzsche’s postulate of three kinds of history — monumental, antiquarian, and critical. Waskowsky’s distinctive historiosophy combines empathy for victims with a vindication of science and art (craftsmanship), as well as attention to the nuances of the fleeting everyday. The choice of the name of the poet’s professor of poetics, Piet Calissius, is considered separately; it represents one of the few details invented by the poet. With the help of poet and translator Jan H. Mysjkin, the meaning of this allusion has been established.

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