A letter revealing Franz Kafka's battle with writer's block is set to be auctioned. The auction will run from Wednesday, June 26, to Wednesday, July 10.
The Prague-born Jewish writer, famous for his tale 'The Metamorphosis' from 1915, suffered persistent fighting with anxiety, pessimism, and isolation. These concepts ultimately impacted his art, yet little about his creative process has been known.
According to the auction house, the one-page letter dates to spring 1920 and is expected to fetch between $89,000 and $115,000 at Sotheby's in London.
Kafka wrote this piece while he was being treated for tuberculosis, which he had been diagnosed with three years before. He worked for an insurance company, and he would take time off to receive treatment at sanatoriums.
He retired in 1922, and two years later, he passed away at a facility near Vienna.
"I haven't written anything for three years, what's published now are old things, I don't have any other work, not even started," Kafka complained in the letter, written in German and addressed to his friend, the Austrian poet Albert Ehrenstein.
Kafka clarified that his absence of new literary output resulted from deeply felt worries that had stopped him from writing and left him hopeless. He acknowledged that he could not write and articulate his ideas further because of his weak resistance to these anxieties.
On Monday, June 3, Sotheby's said they had received a letter from Ehrenstein, requesting that Kafka contribute to his magazine. Ehrenstein was moved to ask to read anything published by Kafka, most likely the collection of short stories 'Ein Landarzt' ("A Country Doctor"), which was published in 1919.
Along with writing the letter, Kafka started a passionate relationship with Milena Jesenská, a Czech writer and journalist.
According to the release, Jesenská's encouragement gave Kafka newfound confidence despite his deteriorating physical condition. It allowed him to start his final literary endeavors, which included 'A Hungry Artist' and 'The Castle.'
He started greatly influencing German literature, which extended globally by the 1960s after his writing was rediscovered in Germany and Austria after 1945. They have been widely adapted for the cinema, TV, and theater.
