Buried deep in Hannah Arendt’s archives in the Library of Congress are two typed and handbound books of verse—short, expressive, and written by Arendt herself. Few know that Arendt, the German Jewish political philosopher responsible for the dense prose of The Human Condition and The Origins of Totalitarianism, wrote poetry. Even fewer knew it during her lifetime—not even her first husband. Still, Arendt made sure to carry these poems with her as she fled Germany in 1933, wended her way over nearly a decade through Prague, Geneva, France, Portugal, and finally made her way to Riverside Drive in Manhattan.
Read Full Article »
