Mascha Kaléko

Mascha Kaléko (; born Golda Malka Aufen; 7 June 1907 – 21 January 1975) was a German-language poet.

Biography

Kaléko was born Golda Malka Aufen in Chrzanów, Galicia (now Poland).

In 1959, Kaléko moved to West Jerusalem, Israel, since her husband, who was conducting research on Hassidic singing, had better working conditions there. She lacked knowledge of Hebrew and was thus somewhat isolated.

Legacy Some of Kaléko's poems were published posthumously, including "Sozusagen grundlos vergnügt", in 1977 in the collection In meinen Träumen läutet es Sturm (In my dreams, a storm is brewing). edited by , to whom Kaléko had entrusted her unpublished writings.

Various attempts have been made to translate individual poems into English. In March 2010, for the first time, a representative number of Kaléko's poems appeared in English translation in the book 'No matter where I travel, I come to Nowhereland': The poetry of Mascha Kaléko (The University of Vermont, 2010, 112 pages). The author, Andreas Nolte, has selected poems from every phase of the poet's life. His translations follow the original German texts as closely as possible in order to maintain the Kalékoesque content, diction, rhythm, and rhyme. Brief introductions provide additional information on Kaléko's remarkable biography.

In Berlin, a street and a park were named after her, and a memorial plaque was placed at her former residence. On September 16, 2020, Google celebrated her with a Google Doodle.

Quote From the poem "Mein schönstes Gedicht"

From the poem "Was man so braucht" (translations: Andreas Nolte):

The poem "Pihi":

Works Das Lyrische Stenogrammheft. Verse vom Alltag (1933) Das kleine Lesebuch für Große. Gereimtes und Ungereimtes, Verse (1934) Verse für Zeitgenossen (1945) Das Lyrische Stenogrammheft (1956, not to be confused with the earlier collection of the same name) Verse für Zeitgenossen (1958, not to be confused with the earlier collection of the same name) Der Papagei, die Mamagei und andere komische Tiere (1961) Verse in Dur und Moll (1967) Das himmelgraue Poesiealbum der M.K (1968) Wie's auf dem Mond zugeht (1971) Hat alles seine zwei Schattenseiten (1973)

Published posthumously: Feine Pflänzchen. Rosen, Tulpen, Nelken und nahrhaftere Gewächse (1976) Der Gott der kleinen Webfehler (1977) In meinen Träumen lautet es Sturm. Gedichte und Epigramme aus dem Nachlaß .(1977) Horoskop gefällig? (1979) Heute ist morgen schon gestern (1980) Tag und Nacht Notizen (1981) Ich bin von anno dazumal (1984) Der Stern, auf dem wir leben (1984)