Hölderlin's Hymn the Ister

Martin Heidegger’s 1942 lecture course interprets Friedrich Hölderlin’s hymn "The Ister" within the context of Hölderlin’s poetic and philosophical work, with particular emphasis on Hölderlin’s dialogue with Greek tragedy. Delivered in summer 1942 at the University of Freiburg, this course was first published in German in 1984 as volume 53 of Heidegger's Collected Works. Revealing for Heidegger’s thought of the period are his discussions of the meaning of "the political" and "the national," in which he emphasizes the difficulty and the necessity of finding "one’s own" in and through a dialogue with "the foreign." In this context Heidegger reflects on the nature of translation and interpretation. A detailed reading of the famous chorus from Sophocles' Antigone, known as the "ode to man," is a key feature of the course.

Martin Heidegger's 1942 lecture course interprets Friedrich Hölderlin's hymn "The Ister" within the context of Hölderlin's poetic and philosophical work, with particular emphasis on Hölderlin's dialogue with Greek tragedy. Revealing of Heidegger's thought of the period are his discussions of the meaning of "the political" and "the national," in which he emphasizes the difficulty and the necessity of finding "one's own" in and through a dialogue with "the foreign."

Booknews

Heidegger's 1942 lecture course interpreting Friedrich H<:o>lderlin's (1770-1843) German poem within the context of the poet's whole body of work, emphasizing his dialogue with Greek tragedy. He discusses distinctions between The Political and The National and between One's Own and The Foreign. Translated from "H<:o>lderlins Hymne" Der Ister published in 1984 by Vittorio Kostermann in Franfurt am Main as volume 53 of Heidegger's Collected Works. Includes German/English and English/German glossaries. No index or bibliography. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

WILLIAM McNEILL is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University and cotranslator (with Nicholas Walker) of The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics: World, Finitude, Solitude by Martin Heidegger. JULIA DAVIS is Research Associate at Whitman College and former Fulbright Fellow at Freiburg University.