vonundzuMierendorff / Handke 1975

For the German speakers out there: The YouTube channel of user vonundzuMierendorff is a real goldmine of German cultural talkshows. Heaps of episodes of nachtstudio, Das literarische Quartett, Das philosophische Quartett, hour-long interviews with Enzensberger, RFA terrorist Peter Klar, and more.

Non-German speakers may even appreciate the following gem from a 2008 nachtstudio interview with Peter Handke. Volker Panzer plays a clip from a 1975 talk show, with Handke in discussion with a group of writers, including the playwright Franz Xaver Kroetz.



Handke gives his avowedly pessimistic view of political history: "I hope that there always remains much that is accidental, and which never looks political in hindsight—that always remains accidental.  Because I believe the great strain in writing is to retain the accidentalness. And to show that whenever an alliance or a harmony occurs, that it is always accidental. And that is my pessimistic view of all of history." Kroetze takes issue with Handke's statement, and offers a fiery response, attempting to embarass Handke and turn the crowd against him: "That is this elite standpoint, that one says 'yes, it's accidental, sorrow happens accidentally, happiness happens accidentally'. That is a standpoint that despises humanity, and which has never encountered sorrow. I can't identify with that, and I reject it. And I would be ashamed if I had to say that as a writer that is active... that it's accidental when harmony occurs in the world. That is nonsense." As the applause dies down, and Kroetze begins to step onto his soapbox once more, Handke gestures to Kroetze's right, saying "Da ist die Kamera."-"The camera's over there." As Panzer clarifies: "Kroetz held a speech, if you will, for the public, the public applauded, but you pointed out to him that he should speak towards the camera [not towards Handke], that he is an agitator, not an author."