Overflow for Herta Muller’s “school of silence” lecture
In the cavernous auditorium of the 92nd St Y, a large audience hung on every word uttered by the petite Herta Müller. At first soft-spoken, she told more of her personal life, than she had a Deutsches Haus earlier in the week. As the evening progressed, her answers became more impassioned and she appeared like a small eagle - powerful and focused.
Language is nothing without humans, she said, and then it can do anything. Writing is hard work, as life is one thing and language another; it is hard to force words to truly express your meaning.
Her question is always: how does one live?
Writing gave her stability and helped her to endure life; it became her work.
Codes are a way of hiding. They can be the language of fear.
Lies are hideouts. In a dictatorship, you can’t even call them lies, as they are necessary for survival.
