Mikrogramme

Robert Walser is known to have noted prose texts, poems, and short plays on more than 500 sheets of paper in his writing, which was considered indecipherable for decades, between 1925 and 1933. For his micrograms, he used so-called art printing sheets, a calendar, and everyday papers that were sent to him in the psychiatric clinic Waldau. After years of work, Jochen Greven, followed by Bernhard Echte and Werner Morlang, deciphered and edited the texts. In them, Walser attempts to "welcome himself" amidst the constant change of experiences and moods, or, as he states elsewhere, to discover "unconsecrated things" within himself. This volume reproduces approximately 15 micrograms in their original size and color. Each illustration is followed by its transcription.