streets where i've lived

bilby commented on the list streets-where-i-ve-lived

Neat idea. May your life have many interesting streets! I did a bit of digging about my street name a few months ago and it led me to one of the most fantastic quotes I've seen in a long time.

December 16, 2007

rolig commented on the list streets-where-i-ve-lived

Thanks, bilby... So are you going to share that fascinating quote with us?

December 16, 2007

bilby commented on the list streets-where-i-ve-lived

Rosa Luxemburg's last known words, written on the evening of her murder, were about her belief in the masses, and in the inevitability of revolution:

"The leadership has failed. Even so, the leadership can and must be recreated from the masses and out of the masses. The masses are the decisive element, they are the rock on which the final victory of the revolution will be built. The masses were on the heights; they have developed this 'defeat' into one of the historical defeats which are the pride and strength of international socialism. And that is why the future victory will bloom from this 'defeat'.

'Order reigns in Berlin!' You stupid henchmen! Your 'order' is built on sand. Tomorrow the revolution will already 'raise itself with a rattle' and announce with fanfare, to your terror:

I was, I am, I shall be!"

Am Vorabend ihrer Ermordung schrieb Rosa Luxemburg:

Die Führung hat versagt. Aber die Führung kann und muss von den Massen und aus den Massen heraus neu geschaffen werden. Die Massen sind das Entscheidende, sie sind der Fels, auf dem der Endsieg der Revolution errichtet wird. Die Massen waren auf der Höhe, sie haben diese 'Niederlage' zu einem Glied jener historischen Niederlagen gestaltet, die der Stolz und die Kraft des internationalen Sozialismus sind. Und darum wird aus dieser 'Niederlage' der künftige Sieg erblühen. – 'Ordnung herrscht in Berlin!' Ihr stumpfen Schergen! Eure 'Ordnung' ist auf Sand gebaut. Die Revolution wird sich morgen schon 'rasselnd wieder in die Höhe richten' und zu eurem Schrecken mit Posaunenklang verkünden: 'Ich war, ich bin, ich werde sein!'

December 16, 2007

rolig commented on the list streets-where-i-ve-lived

An excellent quote, bilby! thanks! So did you live on Rosa Luxemburg Strasse in Berlin?

December 16, 2007

bilby commented on the list streets-where-i-ve-lived

I lived on a Liebknechtstrasse and there are plenty of those in Germany :-)

December 16, 2007

sionnach commented on the list streets-where-i-ve-lived

I lived on Kurfürstenstraße; no shortage of those either throughout Germany.

December 16, 2007

bilby commented on the list streets-where-i-ve-lived

How would you define 'having lived' on a street? Time passed in a particular dwelling? Amount of connection? Emotion? Career? Receiving something in the mail at a certain address? I hope this is not as pithy a question as it sounds. It's a fundamental problem for me as I look at the locales that I'm using for my current novel, which is about precisely this issue of identity as it relates to location.

December 19, 2007

rolig commented on the list streets-where-i-ve-lived

All the streets I listed are places where I resided for at least several months, where I received mail, and which were also considered my "official" residence by the powers that be. Emotionally, I also thought of these places as "home", at least for the time being - I shopped in the neighborhoods, knew my neighbors, entertained friends, and has a sense of it being "my place"; I put my pictures or the walls and my books on the shelves. I am not counting transitional spaces, where I stayed while looking for "my place." I hope that helps your research! Your question is an important one, to me at least: how we connect with a location.

December 19, 2007

bilby commented on the list streets-where-i-ve-lived

Australia doesn't really have the concept of 'official residence' although I notice that in Europe it's a serious thing. There was a time when I stayed three weeks in the house of a girlfriend ... felt like home in a way though I never divulged that address to anyone. Cooked there, yes; had a house key, yes; received phone calls no; paid tax, no; knew the neighbours, sort of. Right on the borderline between wishfulness and practicality :-7

December 19, 2007

reesetee commented on the list streets-where-i-ve-lived

Interesting, bilby. Were I in a situation like that, I don't think I'd have considered it "home" but rather a transitional place, as rolig suggests. Maybe it is a national/cultural concept, but then I've always just assumed it had to do with one's personality. I suppose it also makes a difference whether you expect to be staying put or are deliberately in transition.

December 19, 2007

ruzuzu commented on the list streets-where-i-ve-lived

See I am here!

March 23, 2011