#the berlin chronicles

[couchlovers]

Masterlist

Ask me what you want to read.

My rules

◈⋅ ── ⋅◈

Series

arcane’s masterlist

stranger things’s masterlist

teen wolf’s masterlist

elite’s masterlist

sex education’s masterlist

the 100’s masterlist

vampire diaries’s (with originals & legacies) masterlist

outer banks’s masterlist

the bridgerton chronicles(& queen charlotte) masterlist

fate: winx saga’s masterlist

friend’s masterlist

ginny & georgia’s masterlist

glee’s masterlist

la casa de papel’s (& berlin) masterlist

ncis’s masterlist

percy jackson & the olympians (the serie) masterlist

station 19 (& grey’s anatomy) masterlist

the summer i turned pretty masterlist

XO Kitty & TALBIL masterlist

game of thrones & house of the dragons masterlist

Movies

harry potter’s masterlist

percy jackson’s (movies) masterlist

fast & furious masterlist

the count of montecristo (french adaptation 2024) masterlist

the hunger games masterlist

mcu’s masterlist

fear street’s masterlist

pirates of the caribbean’s masterlist

disney’s (& pixar) masterlist

to all the boys I’ve loved & XOK before masterlist

[tikitania]

Nutcracker Nirvana

I'm a fan of ballet reconstructions. I enjoy peeling back the layers of choreography and discovering what was jettisoned and what endures. It's always a process of seeing ballet from a new perspective. While some reconstructions are more successful than others, I've recently come across this Yuri Burlaka & Vasily Medeydev reconstruction of The Nutcracker for the Stattsballett Berlin featuring Iana Salenko and Marian Walter. It's enchanting! But this has to be prefaced with my relationship to The Nutcracker and how it's changed recently. For most of my life, I simply considered it a treacly moneymaker. It was a cynical take and one based on absolute ignorance. I have been schooled and that started last year when I watched Alastair Macualey, the esteemed ballet historian and former NYT Dance Critic, lead a step-by-step demonstration of the Act 2 PDD with NYCB dancers at NY City Center. It was a comparison of the original Ivanov choreography as danced by Fonteyn in the 1950s (it had already changed somewhat from the 1892 original) and Balanchine's version. It was a revelation. This supposedly treacly ballet was about something far more moving and mysterious. It's a ballet about childhood and imagination, and the fleeting nature of wonderment. It's utterly soaring at times, the crescendos in the PPD keep building and building — but there's an underlying melancholy girding this PDD, reminding us that this world of imagination will all come to an end — the predominant minor key down scales following those soaring crescendos….I learned that Tchaikovsky's beloved younger sister died a year prior to writing this score, and I cannot help but think this ballet is a tribute to her in a way. I was lucky enough to see Sarah Lane and Chun Wai Chan perform the PDD recently with a local ballet company and it brought me to goddamn tears. I'm not ashamed to admit it. That demonstration at City Center is no longer available on YouTube, but you can hear Alastair Macauley talk about the connection between Balanchine's Nutcracker and the Ivanov version that premiered in 1892 in this podcast: Conversations on Dance.

But what I enjoyed so much about this Burlaka-Medyedev reconstruction is that it's not really a step-by-step reconstruction at all, but an homage to the original Imperial libretto and staging. The one that Balanchine grew up with, performed in as a child, and it's the inspiration for the NYCB's version. You can see Ivanov's fingerprints all over Balanchine's Nutcracker. Pointe Magazine wrote about the comparison back when it premiered, noting a couple similarities and differences.

This reconstruction is gorgeously lush. I love the transformations from the parlor into the wintry landscape, the swan sleigh, the pageantry upon entering the Kingdom of Sweets, the focus on Clara/Marie as the central character….and the costumes! The costumes are all based on the original sketches, which were also documented in photographs. The ornate details are what pull me in and I would love to return to this ballet over and over again. I think the only part that really falls short for me is the scarf trick in the PDD. NYCB now does this with a floating disk and even now, it's an aspect of the ballet that still feels disjointed and out of place. Here's a link to the ballet via the TG Channel, the King Dancers. It's a Chinese streamer with the fussiest interface. But you can also stream it via Belaireclassiques for a small fee.

And if you've made it this far, here are some photos from the original 1892 Imperial St. Petersburg Ballet premier also courtesy of the TG channel, the King Dances.

[upmala]

old cemetery of the twelve-apostles church (alter friedhof der zwölf-apostel-gemeinde), berlin

[abba-enthusiast]

Noooooo I went to the belvedere to see klimt’s Judith und Holofernes and she is in Berlin right now 😭😭😭😭

[jcmarchi]

Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT announces 2024-25 fellows

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/knight-science-journalism-program-at-mit-announces-2024-25-fellows/

Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT announces 2024-25 fellows

The Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT (KSJ) will welcome 12 fellows in August. In addition to 10 Academic-Year Fellows, KSJ welcomes the inaugural Fellow for Advancing Science Journalism in Africa and the Middle East, and co-hosts a Sharon Begley Fellow with Boston-based publication STAT.

The Knight Science Journalism Program, established at MIT in 1983, is the world’s leading science journalism fellowship program. Fellows come to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to explore science, technology, and the craft of journalism in depth.

The class of 2025 represents the expansive media environment of today’s journalism. Together, the group has award-winning experience in a wide array of journalistic media, reaching the public through podcasts, documentaries, photographs, books, YouTube, TV, and radio.

“It is a privilege to welcome journalists to our programs who are so deeply aware of the importance of quality science coverage, who are eager to improve their craft, and who will continue to contribute positively to the public understanding of science once they leave here,” says Deborah Blum, KSJ director.

The fellows will spend their time in Cambridge studying at MIT and other leading research universities in the Boston area. They’ll also attend seminars by leading scientists and storytellers, take part in hands-on classes and workshops, and visit world-renowned research laboratories. Each journalist will also pursue an independent research project, focused on a topic of their choice, that advances science journalism in the public interest.

“Many of the biggest headlines of our era derive from science and technology — and the way we apply it to the world around us,” says Blum. “Our fellowship program recognizes the dedication and understanding required for stories that do justice to these issues. We bring fellows to MIT to provide them with an opportunity to enrich and deepen that understanding.”

Fabiana Cambricoli is an award-winning Brazilian journalist based in São Paulo, working as a senior health correspondent for Estadão newspaper, with a focus on in-depth and investigative stories. Before that, she contributed to major media outlets like Grupo Folha and was a fellow at ProPublica. She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in public health from the University of São Paulo, receiving over 10 awards and grants for her work. Cambricoli’s reporting uncovered government negligence during epidemics, highlighted health disparities, and investigated funding behind scientific disinformation. She also co-founded Fiquem Sabendo, a nonprofit promoting transparency and supporting journalists in accessing public information.

Emily Foxhall is the climate reporter at The Texas Tribune, where she focuses on the clean energy transition and threats from climate change. She joined the Tribune in 2022 after two years at The Los Angeles Times and its community papers and seven years at The Houston Chronicle, where she covered the suburbs, Texas features, and the environment. She has won multiple Texas Managing Editors awards, including for community service journalism, and was part of the team named a 2018 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of Hurricane Harvey. She is a Yale University graduate.

Ahmad Gamal Saad-Eddin is a science journalist based in Egypt. He graduated from the faculty of medicine at Zagazig University in Egypt, and worked as a psychiatrist before leaving medicine and beginning a career in science journalism, first as a head of the science section in Manshoor.com, then as an editor at Nature Arabic Edition. He is currently working as a script writer and the fact-checker of ��El-Daheeh,” the leading science YouTube show in the Arab region. His writings have also appeared in several outlets including Scientific American Arabic Edition and Almanassa News. His main writing interest is the interaction between science, its history, and the human experience.

Bryce Hoye is a journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He covers a range of topics, from courts and crime to climate, conservation, and more. His stories appear on TV, radio, and online, and he has guest-hosted CBC Manitoba’s “Weekend Morning Show” and “Radio Noon.” He has produced national documentaries for CBC Radio, including for the weekly science program “Quirks & Quarks.” He has won several Radio Television Digital News Association national and regional awards. He previously worked in wildlife biology monitoring birds for several field seasons with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Jori Lewis writes narrative nonfiction that explores how people interact with their environments. Her reports and essays have been published in The Atlantic Magazine, Orion Magazine, and Emergence Magazine, among others, and she is a senior editor of Adi Magazine, a literary magazine of global politics. In 2022, she published her first book, “Slaves for Peanuts: A Story of Conquest, Liberation, and a Crop That Changed History,” which was supported by the prestigious Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant and a Silvers Grant for Work in Progress. It also won a James Beard Media Award and the Harriet Tubman Prize.

Yarden Michaeli is a journalist serving as the science and climate editor of Haaretz, Israel’s sole paper of record. During his 10 years as a writer, reporter, and editor at Haaretz, he became best known for editing the newspaper’s science vertical during the Covid-19 pandemic and founding its climate desk. Among other things, Yarden served as Haaretz’s first reporter on the ground during the war in Ukraine, covered the war in Gaza, and was dispatched to report on the forefront of the climate crisis during storm Daniel in Greece. Yarden was born in Israel and he is based in Tel Aviv. He has a bachelor’s degree in American studies and economy from the Humboldt University in Berlin and he is a member of the Oxford Climate Journalism Network.

Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi is a two-time winner of the CNN Africa photojournalist award. He is currently with the Associated Press in Zimbabwe. Previously, he was the chief photographer at the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe. With an eye for detail and a passion for multi-format storytelling, he has managed to capture the essence of humanity in his photographs across Africa, Europe, and Asia. He instilled his dedication to his craft and hard work in other photojournalists in his past teaching role with the Norwegian Friedskorp, World Press Foundation in the Netherlands, the Pathshala Institute in South-East Asia, and in his pioneering gender and images work with SAMSO across the southern and East African region.

Aaron Scott is an award-winning multimedia journalist and the creator of the podcast Timber Wars, which was the first audio work to win the MIT Knight Science Journalism Program’s Victor K. McElheny Award, along with the National Headliner Award for Best Narrative Podcast and others. Most recently, he was a host of NPR’s science podcast “Short Wave.” Before that, he spent several years exploring the natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest as a reporter/producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting’s television show “Oregon Field Guide.” His stories have appeared on NPR, Radiolab, This American Life, Outside Podcast, Reveal, and elsewhere.

Evan Urquhart is a freelance journalist whose work has focused on science and medical questions relating to the transgender community. Based in Charlottesville, Virginia, his stories have appeared on Slate, Politico, the Atlantic, Vanity Fair, and many other outlets nationwide. In 2022, Evan founded Assigned Media, a news site devoted to fact-checking misinformation relating to trans issues. He has appeared as an expert on propaganda and misinformation relating to trans issues on radio shows and podcasts including NPR’s “St. Louis on the Air,” Slate’s “Outward,” The American Prospect’s “Left Anchor,” “What the Trans?,” and “It Could Happen Here.”

Jane Zhang is a technology reporter and the China representative of Bloomberg’s global AI squad based in Hong Kong. Over the years she has covered the Chinese internet and Beijing’s tensions with the United States over tech supremacy before jumping feet-first into reporting China’s historical crackdown on its largest corporations, including Alibaba. She has won awards for extensive on-the-ground reporting and exclusive interviews with industry heavyweights like Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei. Her current focus is on covering the incipient AI technology and the regulations around it. Zhang holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Hong Kong.

Sharon Muzaki joins KSJ as the 2024 recipient of the Fellowship for Advancing Science Journalism in Africa and the Middle East. She has been with UGStandard Media since 2019, reporting on the environment and climate change in Uganda. Muzaki graduated from Makerere University in 2019 with a degree in journalism and communication. While working for UGStandard Media, she has attended numerous trainings at the Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications, honing skills in storytelling, data journalism, and mobile storytelling. Muzaki will be the first recipient of the Africa and Middle East Fellowship. The fall semester fellowship, created in honor of the pioneering Egyptian science journalist Mohammed Yahia, is funded by Springer Nature. It is designed to enrich the training of a journalist working in Africa or the Middle East so they can contribute to a culture of high-quality science and health journalism in those regions.

Anil Oza is co-hosted by KSJ and Boston-based publication STAT as the 2024-25 Sharon Begley Science Reporting Fellow. Oza earned a bachelor’s degree in science from Cornell University, where he reported for the campus newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun. Oza has interned at Nature, Science News, and NPR’s “Short Wave.” Oza also interned at STAT during summer 2023, helping produce the health-equity-focused podcast, “Color Code.” Oza will be the fifth recipient of the Sharon Begley Fellowship. This fellowship pays tribute to Sharon Begley’s outstanding career while paving the way for the next generation of science journalists and fostering better coverage of science that is relevant to all people.

More than 400 leading science journalists from six continents have graduated from the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT. KSJ also publishes an award-winning science magazine, Undark, and offers programming to journalists on topics ranging from science editing to fact-checking.

[canadachronicles]

Blue skies smiling at me Nothing but blue skies do I see Bluebirds singing a song Nothing but bluebirds, all day long

How fitting that Diana Krall just came up on the radio, singing Blue Skies, for we're on the road to spend the weekend at Jules, and it may be cold, but the skies are bright blue indeed!

[tammuz]

Assyrian alabaster relief of an Eagle-Headed Winged Figure from the ancient city of Nimrud, dating back to the 9th century BCE. The Pergamon Museum, Berlin, GERMANY.

Photo by Babylon Chronicle

[cuties-in-codices]

biblical & historical cities

miniatures from a manuscript of the sächsische weltchronik (saxon world chronicle), northern germany, early 14th c.

source: Berlin, SBB, Ms. germ. fol. 129

[apricitystudies]

what i read in 2024: best of, part three

(previous editions) bold = favourite

class, race, gender, & sexuality

everyone knew about the a-team

post-377a, discrimination is still in our blood donations (singapore)

predator or prey

40 acres and a lie (usa)

"girl" trends and the repackaging of womanhood

a killer among them (canada)

politics & current affairs

in ruins​: archaeological warfare in the west bank

haiti and the failed promise of u.s. aid

the insulin empire

refugee chronicles: the long and lonely road from sudan to france

'korea is hiding our past': the adoptees searching for their families – and the truth

other

pain and suffering

the expanding table: honoring palestinian culinary tradition in arkansas

remembered coast (singapore)

the last children of down syndrome

my mother, the gambler

the nazi of oak park (usa)

return to kíłááhíí

letter from berlin: piecing together the secrets of the stasi

[bleed-ing4u]

Here are the links I talked about! I tried my best to find l of the movies, but it isn't easy lol. I'm still trying to find the Beatnicks and a better quality version of meet me in Berlin)

So If I find them ill post the links too. But for now here are most of them. I'm so sorry of some links don't work (But they actually should be working)

All of the websites are safe!!

Enjoy the movies :)

Moscow chill

https://fmovie.is/movie/moscow-chill-2007-244663x/

Vacation

https://losmoviesz.to/movie/vacation-zwdl

Pandorum

https://watchug.com/movie/pandorum

Masters of horror (cigarette burns is the episode with norman reedus)

https://watchug.com/episode/masters-of-horror/1-8

Ride With Norman Reedus

https://1mov.to/tv/watch-free-ride-with-norman-reedus-oydqg

The bikeriders

https://losmoviesz.to/movie/the-bikeriders-pmxja

Let the Devil Wear Black

https://watchug.com/movie/let-the-devil-wear-black

Triple 9

https://watchug.com/movie/triple-9

The walking dead: Daryl Dixon

https://1mov.to/tv/watch-free-the-walking-dead-daryl-dixon-wemw0

Messenger 2 :the scarecrow

https://1mov.to/movie/watch-free-messengers-2-the-scarecrow-w607

Dark Harbor

https://1mov.to/movie/watch-free-dark-harbor-0m4rv

Air

https://1mov.to/movie/watch-free-air-xvvw

Hello Herman

https://1mov.to/movie/watch-free-hello-herman-n838q

Gossip

https://1mov.to/movie/watch-free-gossip-vryg8

Pawn shop chronicles

https://1mov.to/movie/watch-free-pawn-shop-chronicles-0jdkz

Sky

https://1mov.to/movie/watch-free-sky-oej5

The Boondock Saints I

https://1mov.to/movie/watch-free-the-boondock-saints-n4wl

The Boondock Saints II

https://1mov.to/movie/watch-free-the-boondock-saints-2-all-saints-day-jkg2

Blade 2

https://losmoviesz.to/movie/blade-2-xljm/1-1

Octane

https://watchug.com/movie/octane

Alien Invasion S.U.M.1

https://watchug.com/movie/alien-invasion-s-u-m-1

Stretch

https://watchug.com/movie/stretch

I'm Losing You

https://watchug.com/movie/i-m-losing-you

Night of the Templar

https://watchug.com/movie/night-of-the-templar

Sunlight Jr

https://watchug.com/movie/sunlight-jr

Antibodies

https://watchug.com/movie/antibodies

Red Canyon

https://watchug.com/movie/red-canyon-2

The Conspirator

https://watchug.com/movie/the-conspirator

Hero wanted

https://watchug.com/movie/hero-wanted

Six ways to Sunday

https://watchug.com/movie/six-ways-to-sunday

Mimic

https://watchug.com/movie/mimic

American gangster

https://watchug.com/movie/american-gangster

(Changed the link for Blade 2 since I don't really trust Daily motion)

Taglist

@yarrystyleeza

@delulu-for-norman

@emo-daryl

@u-b-reedus

@buhitosueco

@4-chan-inpadella

@grimespial

I hope that's everyone 😭

[thatsgonnaleaveamark]

@whumpgifathon - day 13 ↳ favorite aesthetic

(shows under the cut)

Mortel / Graceland A Town Called Malice / Black Sails Pennyworth / Wayne Origin / Babylon Berlin Ghost Wars / The Shannara Chronicles Deutschland 83 / Slow Horses

[mr-s-crane]

[DO NOT REPOST]

Your local LGBTQ+ historian here with a TIMELY FACT: In May of 1933, the first books burned by the N@z! Party were looted from the library of The Institute for Sexual Science (ISS) in Berlin. This research facility was the world’s first sexology clinic. Founded by Magnus Hirschfeld, it promoted sex education, offered STI treatment, chronicled queer history and provided early forms of gender affirming medical care. The queer and trans community was among the first scapegoats of Germany’s fac!st regime.

History does, indeed, repeat itself.

Therein lies horror. And therein lies hope.

Because time and time again, the same old forces have tried to erase us and they always fail. Time and time again, their acts of hate inspire our acts of rebellion that push progress forward in response to their one, brutal step back. It shouldn’t have to be this way. But with every turn of the wheel, we thrive. If the study of history has taught me anything, it is that queer joy is as inevitable as spring.

FIGHT FOR US.

The 19th century painting featured is “Joan of Arc” by John Gilbert

[lizziesloopy]

Part 2 Norman Reedus FREE movie links!!♥️ (all safe)

DO NOT CLICK ON ANY ADDS OR DOWNLOAD VPNS IF IT TELLS U TO, IF IT TAKES U TO A DIFFERENT TAB, DELETE IT IMMEDIATELY

MEET ME IN BERLIN (2007)

PAWN SHOP CHRONICLES (2013)

SKY (2016)

DARK HARBOR (1998)

THE BOONDOCKS SAINTS (1999) https://www.mgtow.tv/watch/the-boondock-saints-1999-full-movie-720p-movies-every-man-needs-to-see-series_bJrqxPw5kwQH3FP.html

BLADE 2 (2002)

https://www.tokyvideo.com/video/blade-ii-2002

LUSTER (2002)

THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE (2005)

AIR (2015)

ALIEN INVASION S.U.M.1 (2016)

TRIPLE 9 (2016)

VACATION (2015)

https://www.lookmovie2.to/movies/play/1689756727-vacation-2015#

SUNLIGHT JR (2013)

STRETCH (2014)

https://ok.ru/video/1900146526872

8:28 AM (2010)

PANDORUM (2009)

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Lorin Bell-Cross

The National Holocaust Museum (NHM) has been denied permission to run an exhibition in Westminster Hall on the grounds that it was too political.

In correspondence seen by the JC, authorities told NHM, who wished to set up the display for Holocaust Memorial Day, that “Westminster Hall is a politically neutral space and activity which could be perceived as campaigning/lobbying or trying to influence political opinions would not be permitted”.

They were instead offered to apply for a space in the Upper Waiting Hall, a much less central location in the Palace of Westminster.

The exhibition tells the story of the Jewish communities in Berlin, Baghdad, Kielce (Poland), Aden (Yemen) and southern Israel and the pogroms that led to their ethnic cleansing in 1938, 1941, 1946, 1947 and 2023 respectively.

Titlted The Vicious Circle organisers also have plans to for international showcases in Tallinn, Berlin and the European Parliament in Brussels.

However, despite the claims of political neutrality, the JC understands that the controversial Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) was allowed to display the Palestinian flag in Westminster Hall as they organised supportive activists to lobby MPs.

NHM Director Marc Cave told the JC: “On Holocaust Memorial Day, Britain’s remembrance of the only industrialised, multi-country genocide ever known was extremely moving. Its support for our community of Holocaust survivors was heart-warming.

"Why does our desire to highlight the delusion that drives all murder of Jews so unsettle the Westminster Hall committee? The Holocaust is not finished business. It has been reopened by haters welcomed into Parliament — a group who play their part in driving the next turn of the Vicious Circle against Jews.”

He added: “A Parliament which does not therefore welcome an exhibition which presents an alternative view, based on hard facts and zero ‘lobbying’ content — is not the democratic institution I believed it was.

"It is only fair that Westminster Hall accords us the same democratic opportunity it has granted to monomaniacs who absurdly pin all the world’s problems on 0.2 per cent of its population.”

However, Parliamentary authorities insisted that the signs which the PSC were allowed to display in Westminster Hall were temporary and solely for the purpose of directing guests during their mass lobby event.

A mass lobby is when a large number of people contact their MPs in advance and all arrange to meet with them at Parliament on the same day to discuss a particular cause.

Both the Trades Union Congress and The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association were also allowed to display signage for the purposes of directing activists during their mass lobbies of parliament, and authorities said that these weren’t comparable to an exhibition.

A parliamentary spokesperson told the JC: "Requests for exhibitions in Westminster Hall are taken on a case-by-case basis, and many requests are made throughout the year. These are completely different to mass lobbies – signage is considered on a case-by-case basis for the sole purposes of directing individuals during a mass lobby."

Meanwhile, ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day, an exhibition put on by the Holocaust Educational Trust was on display in another prominent location in Westminster.

Testimony 360: People and Places of the Holocaust, located in Portcullis House – the newer part of the parliamentary estate where many MPs have their offices and routinely meet guests – features cutting-edge AI and virtual reality technology that allows MPs and visitors to Westminster to ask questions to a digital version of Holocaust survivor Manfred Goldberg BEM, and virtually explore the sites from his testimony.

Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who toured the exhibition with survivors featured in it, also hosted a Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony in Portcullis House.

Last year, Westminster Hall featured a Chanukah reception and speeches by representatives of all three major political parties and Jewish communal leaders.

Lord Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, said that the occasion was the second time in the 800-year history of Westminster Hall that a Chanukah reception had been hosted there, and he confirmed it would now be “an annual event in Parliament”.

[mrmousetolliver]

The Pious Dance: The Adventure Story of a Young Man (1925) by Klaus Mann

“Perhaps no book needs to apologize more for its confusion at the very start than one which. . . deals with our younger generation and wants to be nothing more than an interpretation, expression, description and confession of that younger generation, its urgency, its perplexity—and perhaps its high hopes.”

Klaus Mann wrote these words in the Foreword to his first novel The Pious Dance which he subtitled “The Adventure Story of a Young Man.” Written in 1925, the novel chronicles the life of its autobiographical hero Andreas Magnus who, like Mann, was one of a generation of wistful and confused Weimar youth growing up after World War I had collapsed the ideals of European civilization. Mann was barely seventeen when he first arrived in Berlin in 1923, an event he described in his autobiography The Turning Point: “The city seemed both pitiful and enticing: gray, shabby, demoralized, but still vibratingwith nervous vitality, glistening, gleaming, phosphorizing, frantically animated, full of tensions and promise.”

It is against this mixture of squalor, flamboyance and creativity that Mann sets his tale of adolescent longing, its sexual ambiguities, impressionableness, intense emotionality and energy. Here impoverished young people dwelt on the fringes of the art world, big business, and criminal life. Berlin in the twenties has been much mythologized in painting, literature, and film, strikingly so in Cabaret,based on Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin Stories, which share the performance milieu of The Pious Dance. But Mann’s novel has few rivals that portray the gay underworld of its time. In many ways in The Pious Dance a son challenges the linkage of homosexuality and aestheticism that Klaus’s father, Thomas Mann, drew in Death in Venice. Andreas Magnus is more at home in the forest than at sea. His dance alludes to ecstacy in its ritualistic, mystical sense.

Nature, dreams, sexuality and art are inter twined as themes in The Pious Dance, as they are in virtually all works that, like this one, sit comfortably (or not), in the Bildungsroman tradition of German literature. The novel has a genuine lyrical freshness that at times lets go in passages of the most pressing emotion and lucidity.

If Klaus Mann’s early writings outline the agonized consciousness of brilliant youth, his later writings speak for the exiled and cultural¬ly uprooted German intellectuals who, likehimself, could find no comfort in the society ofnational socialism. He committed suicide in 1949. (Source: Blurb of the 1987 edition)

[probablyasocialecologist]

There is suffering, yes, there is despair and self-harm and ostracism. But Berlin’s Third Sex also offers something you may not expect of Wilhelmine Berlin — fun. To encounter Hirschfeld’s report today is to experience an electric charge of recognition. With its all-night parties, pansexual drag, and campy stage personas, with its elaborate codes of communication, layers of irony, and pop culture references, it reads like a dress rehearsal, in starched collars, for modern Western queer life.