My Life and My Efforts

Volume 23 of the "collected Traveller's Tales" Presents a

collection of earlier short stories, and volume 24 contains a new novel, called "Weihnacht!" <Christmas!>.

1898: On August the 30th, Heinrich Keiter dies. "Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen" is published as volumes 26 and 27 of the "traveller's tales" with an additional chapter, not published before.

1899: "Am Jenseits" <Near the Afterlife> is published as Karl May's 25th volume for Fehsenfeld. On March the 26th, Karl May embarks on his big trip to the Orient. In Egypt, the news of the planned illegal printing by Adalbert Fischer of his earlier novels reaches him. He protests and threatens to sue. Furthermore, he has to find out that a smear campaign has been started in several German newspapers against him and his work, while he has been travelling abroad.

1900: May is joined on his journey by his wife Emma, his friend Richard Plöhn, and his wife Klara. He returns home on July the 31th. Karl May publishes a book of poetry, entitled "Himmelsgedanken" <Thoughts of Heaven>.

1901: On February the 14th, Karl May's friend Richard Plöhn dies. May writes his pacifist novel "Et in terra pax", but has to interrupt it, since it violates the not so peaceful intentions of the publisher Joseph Kürschner. The illegal publication of his earlier novels starts, causing those lawsuits, which were to drag on until long after Karl May's death.

1902: Karl May publishes a third volume of "Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen" as the 28th volume of his "traveller's tales", but this is no longer a plain adventure novel like the first two volumes, but rather an allegorical novel with many hidden, autobiographical references. On September the 10th, Karl May files for divorce.

1903: On March the 4th, the divorce is final. On March the 30th, he marries Klara, the widow of Richard Plöhn. The fourth volume of "Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen" is published as the 29th volume of the "traveller's tales".

1904: The lawsuits against Rudolf Lebius start. The painter Sascha Schneider, a close personal friend of Karl May, creates new cover illustrations for his novels, which reflect the metaphorical interpretation which Karl May now gives to all of his work. Karl May completes "Et in terra pax" and publishes it as volume 30 of his "collected traveller's tales" under the German title "Und Friede auf Erden" <And Peace on Earth>, upon a suggestion by his publisher.

1905: Karl May meets Bertha von Suttner, who won the Nobel Peace Prize that year.

1906: Karl May publishes his drama "Babel und Bibel". It is generally rejected by the critics and has, to my knowledge, never been performed on stage.

1907: On January the 9th, Karl May wins his lawsuit against Adalbert Fischer and Pauline Münchmeyer. On April the 7th, Adalbert Fischer dies. Karl May reconciles his differences with the "Hausschatz" magazine and publishes in it his novel "Der Mir von Dschinnistan".

1908: On September the 5th, Karl and Klara May embark on their journey to America. They visit New York, Albany, Buffalo, and the Niagara Falls. In Lawrence, Massachusetts, Karl May meets his old friend Pfefferkorn, who had emigrated to America. On October the 18th, he makes a speech on mankind's big questions: "Who are we? Where do we come from? Where do we go to?" Probably in early November, he returns home, to depart again for London by the end of this month, spending about one week in England. In early December, Karl May and his wife return home.

1909: The magazine's publication of "Der Mir von Dschinnistan" ends. Under the new title "Ardistan und Dschinnistan", this novel becomes volumes 31 and 32 of his "collected traveller's tales". Karl May adds an fourth volume to his Winnetou trilogy, written in his new, allegorical style. It is published in an supplement to a newspaper called "Augsburger Volkszeitung".

1910: The fourth volume of Winnetou is included into his "traveller's tales" as its 33rd and last volume. Karl May publishes his autobiography.

1911: Karl May's health is getting worse. From May to July, he spends time in several health resorts in Austria and Italy. On December the 18th, Karl May wins his lawsuit against Rudolf Lebius. In the end of the year, May suffers from a severe case of pneumonia.

1912: Against doctor's orders, Karl May accepts an invitation to speak before the academy for literature and music in Vienna. On March the 20th, he arrives in Vienna, and in an interview with a newspaper reporter, he says: "What I have created up to now, I regard as preliminary studies, as études. I have, in a manner of speaking, tested my audience. Only now, I want to approach the actual work of my life." On March the 22th, he speaks before an enthusiastic audience of about 2000 people. On March the 30th, back at home in Radebeul, he dies.

About my translation:

This translation is based on the first edition of 1910.

That one footnote from the original text is marked with a .

Here and there, I have added some footnotes, to explain things which do not translate so well into English or some readers might not be familiar with. These additional footnotes are marked with , etc. I admit that there are still a few more expressions which might require an explanation, but I could not fully resolve myself.

Names of places and titles of books are often left untranslated, but when they carry a translatable meaning I have added this in angle brackets.

------------------------------------------------------------------

My Life and My Efforts

Autobiography by Karl May

Volume I

Original title: Mein Leben und Streben, Selbstbiographie von Karl May, Band I

The day this world will cast you from its sight, Go calmly forth from here and don't lament. By means like this, it freed you from your plight, And as it did you wrong, it will repent.

(Karl May "Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen" )

A slightly different version of this poem can be found in "Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen IV" <In the Empire of the Silver Lion, Volume 4> a.k.a. "Das versteinerte Gebet" <The Petrified Prayer>. There, the last line would translate literally as "and therefore it has to bear all of your guilt", whereas here a more literal translation would be "and it now has to bear its guilt (from its offence) against you by itself".

Contents

I. The Fable of Sitara II. My Childhood III. No Boyhood IV. My Time at the Seminary and as a Teacher V. In the Abyss VI. Working for the Colportage VII. My Literary Work VIII. My Lawsuits IX. Conclusion

I. The Fable of Sitara

If someone should go in a straight line from the earth to the sun within three months and proceed beyond the sun for another three months into the same direction, he would reach a star named Sitara. Sitara is a Persarabian word, meaning nothing more than "star".

This star has much, very much, in common with our earth. Its diameter is 1700 miles and its equator 5400 miles long. It revolves around itself and simultaneously also around the sun. One movement around itself takes precisely one day, the movement around the sun takes just as precisely one year, not a second more or less. Its surface consists of one part land and two parts water. But, while there are five continents to be found on earth, the land of Sitara is arranged in a different, much simpler manner. It is all connected. It does not form several continents, but just a single one, which consists of the lowland, full of morasses, and the highland, boldly towering up towards the sun. Both are connected by a rather small, steeply ascending strip of jungle. The lowland is a plain. It is unhealthy, rich in poisonous plants and savage beasts, and at the mercy of all the tempests, raging from sea to sea. It is called Ardistan. Ard means earth, soil, a base substance, and figuratively it means the pleasure of mindless existence in filth and dust, the inconsiderate amassing of material possessions, the cruel, destructive fight against everything that does not belong to one's own self, or is not willing to serve it. Thus, Ardistan is the home of the low, selfish ways of life, and in respect to its more evolved inhabitants, the land where personsofviolenceand egotism live. The highland, on the other hand, is lofty, healthy, eternally young and beautiful, kissed by sunbeams, rich in natural gifts as well as the products of human efforts, a garden of Eden, a paradise. It is called Jinnistan. Jinni means spirit, beneficent ghost, bliss-bringing, unearthly creature, and figuratively it means the inborn yearning for higher goals, the pleasure in mental and spiritual progress, the busy striving for everything which is good and noble, and most of all the joy in promoting one's neighbours' happiness, the well-being of all those who require love and assistance. Thus, Jinnistan is the realm of humanity and neighbourly love, stretching upwards like the mountains, the once promised land of the noblyspiritedpeople_.

Continue reading My Life and My Efforts free in the Wunder reader →