The Günter-Grass-Haus in Lübeck has presented its latest acquisition, the manuscript for “Grimm’s Words”. In addition to the various handwritten versions of the nine chapters, the bundle also includes the galley proofs of the 358-page book. “The work “Grimm’s Words” is a declaration of love to the German language and also to Grass’s wife Ute, to whom the work is also dedicated,” said the head of the Grass House, Jörg-Philipp Thomsa, on Thursday.
In the text written in 2010, Grass tells the story of the origins of the “German Dictionary” begun in 1838 by the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, which is one of the most important works in German intellectual history. The Nobel Prize winner for literature, who died in 2015, really appreciated the work of the Brothers Grimm, said Thomsa. Her work runs practically through the entire work of Günter Grass.
The purchase of the last major prose text written by Grass was financed by the Minister of State for Culture and Media and the Günter and Ute Grass Foundation with around 50,000 euros. Excerpts from the manuscript are said to flow into future exhibitions. However, no special exhibition is planned.
Press release of the Lübeck museums
