The Moral Courage of Günter Grass

Last week, Günter Grass, the giant of contemporary German literature and Nobel Prize winner, passed away. We invited Ali Abdollahi, a German translator and poet residing in Tehran, to be this week's guest on the program "Distant View, Close View." Ali Abdollahi has compiled and published a translation of Günter Grass's poems titled "Love with Wooden Legs" and a collection of essays about him called "The World of Günter Grass." Let me first ask what Günter Grass's position and rank in the realm of contemporary world literature was? Ali Abdollahi: Günter Grass has two prominent aspects in terms of personality. One is his literary side, which is manifested in his novels, poems, sculptures, and paintings. The other is his political side, which is equally significant as his writing. Grass, as a committed poet and writer, has intervened in and commented on politics throughout his career. The moral courage he displayed in expressing his opinions is noteworthy and has always been emphasized. Let's take a look at the literary activities of Günter Grass. We know that he won the Nobel Prize for his novel "The Tin Drum." However, he was active in other areas of literature as well. Was Günter Grass one of the leading writers of contemporary world literature? Yes, Günter Grass became known as a novelist with "The Tin Drum," "Dog Years," and "Cat and Mouse," which are known as the Danzig trilogy, all of which take place in Danzig. He occupies a high level in novel writing, relying on the tradition of German novelists like Thomas Mann, Robert Musil, and Hermann Broch, while also incorporating innovations unique to him, such as the use of grotesque elements and a distinctive language and perspective on storytelling. These have had an impact on contemporary literature. Besides these, he has many other novels like "The Flounder" and "Local Anesthesia." "My Century," one of his last books, is considered a connected collection of stories. Alongside all this, Günter Grass was a poet who entered the literary scene with his first poetry collection titled "The Advantage of Wind Birds" and continued to write poetry until the end of his life. Even in recent years, he only wrote poetry because he said he could not write long stories. In poetry, he is a significant figure as he follows Heinrich Heine, the father of political poetry in Germany, Bertolt Brecht, and other social poets, but with his own definition of poetry that closely resembles his stories. He also worked on painting and sculpture, which are noteworthy and have been published in his books. Many of them are book cover designs, and many of his sculptures are in Günter Grass's home, and his paintings have been published alongside his poems in several volumes. Did Günter Grass publish works of the same magnitude or importance after "The Tin Drum"? Yes, he published many works that are in some way a continuation of "The Tin Drum." In fact, since Günter Grass's prose works were more translatable and transferable, and many of them were adapted into films, his fame as a novelist is more prominent worldwide. This is because his poems are not easily translatable and are difficult, requiring selection among them; therefore, he is more successful in his fictional works, and he is better known for them. He told me that he preferred the book "Dog Years" over "The Tin Drum," but he said that this is my opinion, and the reader's opinion may not necessarily be the same. For example, the novel "The Rat" is a significant novel, and "The Flounder" is also a notable novel that has been translated into Persian as "Kafcheh Mahi." Many of his novels, however, have not yet been translated into Persian. Another aspect of Günter Grass's life was not only his literary contributions but also his political and intellectual life. Günter Grass had a very tumultuous life in politics. From his teenage years when he joined the Nazi Party to when he joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany, where he remained a member for about 11 years; and due to the political positions he took on global issues, Grass's stances are largely less seen among modern literary intellectuals in Europe. What position does this give Günter Grass in his cultural and literary life? This constitutes a large part of his cultural and literary life. Because without these stances, without intervening in various political crises and issues, Günter Grass would be meaningless. He always commented on current events happening anywhere in the world alongside his books, and he was very aware and kept track of everything. He believed that a writer is a social being who must keep pace with current events, and the most important thing in this matter is that he had the moral courage to speak the truth even if others did not like it. This is something that many writers may not have the courage to do or may not even think to express. From this perspective, Günter Grass's work is very important. For instance, some writers may comment on social issues, but that comment may later be proven wrong or only hold part of the truth; but this moral courage to say what he believes is the truth makes Grass significant and his work important because many lack this moral courage. His moral courage often exposed him to many attacks. For example, due to his positions against Israeli policies in the Middle East or his support for anti-war groups opposing Israel's threats against Iran in recent years, he was targeted by pro-Israel Jewish parties. Or because of his past, having been a member of the Nazi Party in his youth, he faced severe criticism and attacks. Of course, he later became a critic of the Nazi Party, and "The Tin Drum" is fundamentally against Nazi ideology. In any case, these attacks created a difficult situation for him in German society. Did Grass fully believe in the writer's commitment as an intellectual and social activist? He positioned himself beyond the usual noise and controversies. This is the importance of Grass's work. Yes, Günter Grass considered himself a follower of the Enlightenment tradition that began in France and later in Germany. Figures like Lessing and Herder and later Heinrich Heine and Bertolt Brecht, who were part of this tradition, believed that one must comment on social issues and always defend social achievements in the fields of freedom, democracy, and minority rights, and must attack the enemies of these achievements while also pointing out the negative aspects of these achievements. He was not a follower of postmodernists who claimed, for instance, that the writer's view of politics or committed art no longer holds value. Rather, he argued that the reason the Enlightenment may have failed in some respects is due to reliance on instrumental reason and capitalist mentality. The importance of his work lies in the fact that he was never superficial and did not conform to what the press presented. He always expressed what he believed to be the truth and positioned himself beyond the usual noise and controversies. This is the significance of Grass's work. You met Günter Grass in the summer of 2013. If possible, please talk a bit about this meeting with the listeners. Where did you meet Günter Grass, how did you find him, and what conversations took place between you during that meeting? I met Günter Grass at his home about a year and a half ago. At that time, I had gone to northern Germany near Lübeck for a scholarship to translate a book because Grass's house is in one of the villages near Lübeck. I was able to contact Günter Grass through that institute and arrange a meeting. He seemed to me to be a very open-minded, kind, and at the same time very astute person. At first, I thought that since my friends and I had translated some of his works in Iran without copyright, he might not react positively; but upon mentioning this, he not only was not upset but welcomed it. He said that conditions vary from place to place. Another point that was very interesting to me was that whenever I came across any of his works in his study, he eagerly said he would like to gift it to me and gave me a heavy bag of his works. He was very aware of current issues. For a man over eighty years old, he was keeping track of everything and even knew about Mr. Rouhani's election; it was just the first few months, and this was very interesting to me. Did Günter Grass have any knowledge of Iranian culture or contemporary Iranian literature during your meeting? He was very familiar with classical Iranian literature and the tradition of Iranian intellectualism and said he had hope and respect for it in my region. He appreciated the century-long efforts of Iranian intellectuals for freedom, democracy, and enlightenment. In this regard, he knew many contemporary writers, those whose works had been translated into German, not those who had not been translated. For example, he had read the works of Dowlatabadi, Sadegh Hedayat, and Abbas Maroufi. I also introduced him to a few others, and he planned to acquire their books later. At the same time, he had a relatively good understanding of ancient Iranian culture and noted that although Iran is an Islamic country, its language has not changed, and it has its own unique tradition of enlightenment, always praising the awakening of Iranian intellectuals. During my time there, we talked about literature, politics, and writing social and committed poetry, and I conducted an interview with him, the full text of which will be published in a book in the future. Finally, what do you think remains from Günter Grass for writers, intellectuals, and those interested in engaging in literature? What aspect of his life, work, and efforts stands out? His efforts in literature, in storytelling and poetry, and most importantly, his efforts in expressing the truth in any way possible and following the tradition of speaking out and expressing the truth without any hesitation. I believe this is one of Günter Grass's significant achievements.