Hans Balmes
@hans596.bsky.social
Editor, translator, folding canoe enthusiast
#JohnBergerAt99 On November 5th John Berger would be 99 years old. "Some Fruit as Remembered by the Dead". It started with olives, in Here Is Where We Meet followed melons, peaches, greengages, quetsch... so let's fill cups with fruit, remember, think of him and thank him in tasting... cherries.
November 4, 2025 at 9:07 PM
#JohnBergerAt99 On November 5th John Berger would be 99 years old. "Some Fruit as Remembered by the Dead". It started with olives, in Here Is Where We Meet followed melons, peaches, greengages, quetsch... so let's fill cups with fruit, remember, think of him and thank him in tasting... cherries.
#JohnBergerAt99 On Quetsch: "Another reason why they are the fruit of song. From barrels full of quetsch, when the fruit were fermented, we distilled illegal gnole, plum brandy, slivovitz. And sparkling little glasses of this invariably prompted us to sing songs of love, solitude and endurance."
November 4, 2025 at 8:52 PM
#JohnBergerAt99 On Quetsch: "Another reason why they are the fruit of song. From barrels full of quetsch, when the fruit were fermented, we distilled illegal gnole, plum brandy, slivovitz. And sparkling little glasses of this invariably prompted us to sing songs of love, solitude and endurance."
#JohnBergerAt99 A week after the funeral of his friend Sven, Yves hands a a bowl of olives to Berger: "As I spit out the stone and try to define the flavor - sharp, bitter black, Greek - a thought crosses my mind: From now on I taste olives for Sven too." From the Confabulation: Et in Arcadia ego -
November 4, 2025 at 8:37 PM
#JohnBergerAt99 A week after the funeral of his friend Sven, Yves hands a a bowl of olives to Berger: "As I spit out the stone and try to define the flavor - sharp, bitter black, Greek - a thought crosses my mind: From now on I taste olives for Sven too." From the Confabulation: Et in Arcadia ego -
Under the moon a glimpse of the cosmos we are floating through -
November 4, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Under the moon a glimpse of the cosmos we are floating through -
„Handmade in wilderness“ - a postcard of Vija Celmins from her catalogue for Fondation Beyerle. Front of the postcard: Dürer‘s Lion
November 2, 2025 at 8:03 PM
„Handmade in wilderness“ - a postcard of Vija Celmins from her catalogue for Fondation Beyerle. Front of the postcard: Dürer‘s Lion
Vija turns up the heat - Hot Plate from 1964, oil on canvas - in front of it you hear sizzle
November 2, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Vija turns up the heat - Hot Plate from 1964, oil on canvas - in front of it you hear sizzle
Last one in: die November-Beere aus dem Garten
November 2, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Last one in: die November-Beere aus dem Garten
Road to Stockholm (1): new novel by László Krasznahorkai - proofreading starts
October 25, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Road to Stockholm (1): new novel by László Krasznahorkai - proofreading starts
Milchtütenprophetier? Am Donnerstag, Tag der Nobelpreisverkündung, öffnete ich eine Milch mit László Krasznahorkais Geburtstag. Na, das kann ja noch was werden …
October 12, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Milchtütenprophetier? Am Donnerstag, Tag der Nobelpreisverkündung, öffnete ich eine Milch mit László Krasznahorkais Geburtstag. Na, das kann ja noch was werden …
Der Tag danach: Knesebeck 11 - Dank an Felix Palent, ein treuer Leser, wie es früher hieß. Bilder von der Lesung in der Berliner Buchhandlung im Juni 2020 Foto: Florian Bungart
October 10, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Der Tag danach: Knesebeck 11 - Dank an Felix Palent, ein treuer Leser, wie es früher hieß. Bilder von der Lesung in der Berliner Buchhandlung im Juni 2020 Foto: Florian Bungart
Richard Long dives into the Erlenbach ? A perfect Circle, too regular for the kids, too big for just cooling some beer, to early to provide a spawning pit - But what surprise
September 25, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Richard Long dives into the Erlenbach ? A perfect Circle, too regular for the kids, too big for just cooling some beer, to early to provide a spawning pit - But what surprise
One of the best books on my shelf … diving into posterity, at least the one between pages —/
September 24, 2025 at 8:54 PM
One of the best books on my shelf … diving into posterity, at least the one between pages —/
David Hinton wandering the dictionary - breath-space and seed-time, in Orient. Two walks at the edge of the human. Shambhala, 2025
September 23, 2025 at 9:40 AM
David Hinton wandering the dictionary - breath-space and seed-time, in Orient. Two walks at the edge of the human. Shambhala, 2025
Tu Mu - translated by David Hinton: „set out for home, no idea where“. Hinton’s new book about hiking in the desert - a meditation about breath-space and seed-time, a cosmological reset
September 22, 2025 at 7:35 AM
Tu Mu - translated by David Hinton: „set out for home, no idea where“. Hinton’s new book about hiking in the desert - a meditation about breath-space and seed-time, a cosmological reset
In summer the leaves grow so thick, they form a dark shady hollow way, and for long stretches the moss becomes invisible. But as soon as there some gaps in the dense Vegetation, moss is immediately springing back to life
September 21, 2025 at 10:29 AM
In summer the leaves grow so thick, they form a dark shady hollow way, and for long stretches the moss becomes invisible. But as soon as there some gaps in the dense Vegetation, moss is immediately springing back to life
Moss at the Erlenbach: in March it has formed a green collar just above the winter’s waterline, sculpting the roots of the trees which grow between the rocks and fortifying the banks. There have been no leaves than, and moss was the only green. Radiant, often with laced with frost by the spray.
September 21, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Moss at the Erlenbach: in March it has formed a green collar just above the winter’s waterline, sculpting the roots of the trees which grow between the rocks and fortifying the banks. There have been no leaves than, and moss was the only green. Radiant, often with laced with frost by the spray.
Each river is a multitude of rivers. This is maybe not the first version, but the lowest of Erlenbach: shallow water all summer - timid life - trouts vanished upstream. Walking through - a solitary dragonfly and some horseflies near the ranch - no Insekts beside water striders skirting cooler pools
September 20, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Each river is a multitude of rivers. This is maybe not the first version, but the lowest of Erlenbach: shallow water all summer - timid life - trouts vanished upstream. Walking through - a solitary dragonfly and some horseflies near the ranch - no Insekts beside water striders skirting cooler pools
Left out in the rain: John Berger‘s essay on Platonow who later appeared in „Bento‘s Sketchbook“
September 17, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Left out in the rain: John Berger‘s essay on Platonow who later appeared in „Bento‘s Sketchbook“
Staying at a flat in Berlin noticing it is the home of the well read book - old friends …
September 13, 2025 at 8:36 AM
Staying at a flat in Berlin noticing it is the home of the well read book - old friends …
Back in Berlin - most crowded upholstery
September 12, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Back in Berlin - most crowded upholstery
„Egrets hunting in the tidal shallows“ at the end of summer - Robert Hass, from his collection „Time and Materials“ (2007)
September 7, 2025 at 7:04 PM
„Egrets hunting in the tidal shallows“ at the end of summer - Robert Hass, from his collection „Time and Materials“ (2007)