Emile (Mike) Capouya
Mike’s Letter
This is from a letter I received some years ago from a letter
by the late Emile (Mike) Capouya, who was my friend and mentor.
I inserted it in my non-fiction novel, “Der Auschluss: Memoiren eines Neununddreissigers” (Memoirs of a 39er: a novel of sorts).
“In the course of your literary adventures, you take up with terrible people, partly due to good will and naiveté, and partly because you feel compelled to embrace whatever possibilities seem to present themselves in such questionable individuals. Blank is a good example of the kind of man you would do well to avoid, and you have often given me accounts of other associates who make him look good.”
Mike went on.
“You seem to have come to the point where you can begin to see that your long struggle has been misguided. You are a worthy member of a noble calling, a novelist, a poet, a playwright, a translator and you have never trafficked in trash. You are unfit to be a star because you are not a clown, a showman or an inspired ham. The fact that some good writers are household names, is under our conditions a coincidental; most of the household names are clever-stupid people.”
German Translation
“Im Laufe Deiner literarischen Abenteuer hast Du Dich mit furchtbaren Leuten eingelassen - teils aus Gutmütigkeit und Naivität, teils, weil Du glaubst, alle Möglichkeiten, die sich Dir bieten, ergreifen zu müssen. Blank hättest Du besser aus dem Weg gehen sollen, und Du hast mir öfters von anderen Verbindungen erzählt, die sogar ärger waren.”
Und Mike fuhr Fort:
“Du scheinst an einem Punkt angelangt zu sein, an dem Du endlich begreifst, daß Dich Dein langer Kampf in die Irre geführt hat. Du bist ein würdiges Mitglied eines edlen Berufsstandes - Romancier, Lyriker, Dramatiker, Übersetzer - und Du hast Dich nie mit Schund befaßt. Du bist nicht zum Star geeignet, weil Du kein Clown, kein Schmierenkomödiant bist und Dich nicht in Szene setzen kannst. Die Tatsache, daß einige gute Autoren in der Öffentlichkeit bekannt sind, ist ein Zufall, denn die meisten bekannten Autoren sind geistreich-stupide Leute.”
Sphere: Related Content
Posted: January 3rd, 2009 under Polemics, Text, Materialien, Dossier.
Comments: none
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In spite of the fact that his brother Theo was an art dealer, he never had an exhibit and he sold only one painting. He lived in the good old days of art, and many of his contemporaries did well. I don’t want to name them here, because every man named would share the shame of not having helped him.