Karl Kraus, infrequent and visionary (2/3): The «nest polluter»

The work of the Austrian writer Karl Kraus (1874-1936) is still unjustly ignored today. A scourge of hypocrisy, a fierce critic of the damaging power of the so-called «information» press, viscerally at odds with public opinion through his early opposition to the First World War, he remains a victim of disdain and contempt, leaving in the shadows his visionary writings, which still resonate a century later like so many warnings. A three-part attempt to rehabilitate one of the greatest German-language writers of the first half of the 20th century (first his life, then his magazine and aphorisms, and finally his books).

In this second episode devoted to Karl Kraus, we look at three of his activities: his magazine Die Fackel, his public readings and lectures, and his long-running aphorisms.