How can the leaves of trees and their movements be expressed linguistically? Words are often lacking for subtle observations and complex phenomena such as these, which Kurt Tucholsky expresses precisely in "I can´t think of the word" [1929].
Do you know what birch leaves do? How they move in the wind and catch the light? Kurt Tucholsky, a German writer, tried to describe exactly that in 1929 in "I can´t think of the word" (original title: "Mir fehlt ein Wort"). But he couldn't find the words to express exactly what he saw and felt.
Words try to make experiences and perceptions accessible to others. The movement of birch leaves may be an everyday observation, but for you it can be meaningful and profound, making you feel the limitations of language.
Tucholsky, also known as Peter Panter, describes the profound significance of these subtle observations and the difficulty of putting them into words. Perhaps he speaks from your heart too.
["I can´t think of the word" Kurt Tucholsky (Peter Panter) in: "Die Weltbühne" no. 38, 17.09.1929]
I am going to go to my grave without knowing what it is that birch leaves do. I know what it is, but I can’t say it in words. The wind blows through the young birches, their leaves vibrate so quickly back and forth that they… what? Shimmer? No, the light shimmers on them. One could perhaps, at most, say that the leaves shimmer, but that is not it. It is a nervous movement, but what is it? How does one say it? What one cannot say remains unresolved. ‚To speak about‘ is really important. Did Goethe say ‘the ripple of leaves’? I don’t want to get up to find out, it is such a long way to these reference books, five yards and a hundred years. What is it that the birch leaves do?
[…]
What is it that the birch leaves do? Only the birch leaves do it. The leaves of other trees move in the wind, they shiver and rustle, their branches wave. I am not short of any synonym, I know them all, but the birches are different, they are female trees. It’s funny how we always try to get around the problem with a comparison, if we can’t get there directly. There was an entire Austrian school of poetry which only expressed aural impressions facially, and olfactory impressions musically. It was an amusing parlour game, and some people even called it poetry, but what is it that the birch leaves do? While I am writing this, I get up every four lines and look at what they do. They are doing it, and I will pass away without having said it.
Kurt Tucholsky's use of language is outstanding. In the turbulent times of the 1930s, the author wrote about his reflections, thoughts and feelings on the political and social situation in the weekly magazine "Die Weltbühne", among others. His writings are as relevant today as they were in his time.
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