walk
Battle of Jempach
Mrs. Wilke
That's it
poet
Snowdrop
A person who knows nothing
Kleist of the Toon
A Student's Diary: Two Strange Stories About Death
author

“What we understand and love understands and loves us.” —Robert Walzer

A new territory for 20th century modern literature
The enigmatic writer Robert Walser
Portrait of an artist wandering between the uncertain shadows of life and death.

It is one of the most profound achievements of modern literature. - Walter Benjamin
I admire Robert Walser.
People should read his works. - Hermann Hesse
Robert Walser first reached the literature shown by Kafka. - Susan Sontag

Robert Walser, who has a limited but enthusiastic readership, is a mysterious figure somewhere between Heinrich von Kleist, the author of the eccentric novella, and Franz Kafka, the surrealist.
Although he was highly regarded by Hermann Hesse, Kurt Tucholsky, Robert Musil, Franz Kafka, and Walter Benjamin, he was not well known to the public of his time.
Today, he is recognized as a pioneering writer, representing early 20th-century literature.

An enigmatic writer who pioneered new territory in 20th century literature,
Robert Walser's "Small World" Opens

Minumsa has published a book titled "Walking: The Works of Robert Walser," which contains a selection of representative prose and unique short stories by Robert Walser, a writer who is considered one of the most eccentric figures not only in German-speaking literature but also in the history of 20th-century literature.
Although Robert Walser was highly regarded by numerous writers and critics, including Franz Kafka, Hermann Hesse, Robert Musil, and Walter Benjamin, he did not receive much attention from contemporary readers.
Due to his family's declining financial situation, he had to take responsibility for his own living from the age of fourteen, and had to stop his formal education and work all kinds of jobs.
However, Balzer, who loved theater and was interested in writing poetry, did not give up his literary passion even in difficult circumstances.
Although this unfortunate genius had several opportunities, he never achieved mass success, and all hope was betrayed by the continued loss of his family.
Eventually, Balzer, who began to show symptoms of schizophrenia, was sent to a mental hospital, and even after his condition improved, he had nowhere to go and spent the rest of his life locked in his hospital room until his last moment.
But even in the midst of this constant state of despair, Balzer loved the world, enjoyed long-distance walking trips that cost nothing, and wrote in very small letters to save paper, leaving behind a vast amount of records.


Although the author himself may not have intended it, Robert Walser's work vividly and cruelly captures the madness and shadows of 20th-century industrial society, the inhumane environment created by the metropolis, and the problems of human alienation and loneliness.
As Susan Sontag said, Robert Walser, who “was first exposed to the literature shown by Kafka,” revealed in literature the figures of “minorities,” “marginalized individuals,” and “human beings consumed like tools” that had been obscured by the illusion of a future promised by a brilliant civilization and infinite progress.
Moreover, he completely opened up a 'new literary territory' by rejecting the traditional narrative structure, and he broke common sense even in the choice of words and use of tense.
For example, although he fought in World War I, Balzer barely mentioned that terrible war, and he never even mentioned romance, which is so common among other writers, throughout his life.
Moreover, despite having moved to many cities and worked in a wide variety of fields due to personal circumstances, I only repeated my own inner thoughts and a very limited range of experiences.
Meanwhile, Robert Walser began his story without any particular order and then suddenly stopped, and while calmly confessing the 'downward-looking attitude' that has always been forced upon us in a bureaucratic industrial society and the 'human image as a replaceable part', he also dismantled (overturned) the tradition of the 'Bildungsroman' achieved by the masters of the past era and the 'humanistic values' that Western intellectual history has proudly preserved.


Robert Walser, who presented such an unprecedented world of works, was once again highly praised as a pioneer of postmodernism in the mid-to-late 20th century, and is openly respected by such modern literary giants as Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek and Peter Handke.
Perhaps Robert Walser's work will be more meaningful to readers living in today's increasingly dehumanized world.

Including Robert Walser's representative prose work "Walk"
A collection of writings that reveal the author's true colors.

It's a walk.
It is something we must do to find vitality and establish relationships with the living world.
Without feeling for the world, I cannot write a single word, I cannot create even the smallest attempt, whether verse or prose.
If I can't go for a walk, I'm dead, and my beloved job is gone.
If I didn't go for walks and collect things worth writing about, I wouldn't be able to write anything anymore, not even a long novella, let alone a very short piece.
Without walking, I would not be able to perceive or sketch anything.
―From "Walk"

In 『Walks: The Collected Works of Robert Walser』, you can encounter 11 diverse works, including 『Walks』, which is the most widely read of Walser's prose works and is becoming more important day by day, as well as 『Kleist der Thun』, 『The Poet』, and 『The Writer』, which decisively show the author's artistic view, and 『The Diary of a Student』 and 『That's Enough』, which clearly show the motifs and themes of his representative work 『Benjamenta Hein-School』.


In particular, the title piece, "A Walk," is a very valuable work that decisively demonstrates Robert Walser's outstanding literary achievement.
This story begins one day, without any trigger, and proceeds without any particular incident, far removed from probability, following the flow of consciousness, as if rejecting all narrative necessity.
The protagonist of "A Walk", 'I', wanders around the town, stopping at bookstores to check out books that are selling well, and also getting into unnecessary arguments with a sheep dealer.
Meanwhile, he shows off his abilities by confirming the existence of a sudden stroke of luck, that is, a donation, and boasts about being invited to a lunch prepared by a generous lady.
Then, suddenly, the mood of the story changes.
The noble lady who was welcoming the protagonist suddenly threatens him, and the strict official of the government office harshly criticizes the life of 'me', who is a writer who does nothing but enjoy leisurely walks and is unable to 'act like a human being'.
Now the focus shifts to the unspoiled nature, contrasting with the industrialized world, before abruptly transitioning to a scene where he tells his fantasies to a strange woman.
The story moves in a completely unpredictable direction, and the narrator's emotions also move forward, going back and forth between joy and fear, despair and hope.
As we follow the story of 'I', who seems to be interested only in talking about his inner self, we clearly experience the alienation and loneliness of human beings in modern society (so prevalent that we have failed to properly perceive it), and the fear of others and large entities (such as state institutions).
"Promenade," which seems to have foreseen the ills of modern times, is not at all lacking in its evaluation as "the most profound work of our time," as Walter Benjamin said.


"That's Enough," "The Man Who Knows Nothing," and "Two Strange Stories About Death," which are thematically an extension of "A Walk," are full of content that would be chilling to even today's readers.
Reading these works, which present the completely paralyzed individual who has been brainwashed by greedy power and turned into a puppet, as an anti-heroic representation, repeating the twisted desires of those in power who take away the right to speak from the citizens and expect them to remain silent and submissive, capitalists who want workers to work like machines and not harbor any complaints, and pseudo-media that seeks to increase the number of fools, it is not difficult to find parts that strangely overlap with the situation in 21st century South Korea.
Robert Walser, who foresaw the dehumanization brought about by industrialization with its blind faith in functional efficiency, the materialism fostered by capitalism, and the fragile side of human society that could be swept up in the whirlpool of madness at any moment, and who also achieved this through literature, will be read with even greater importance today than in the past, and even more so in the future.