Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Porn Claim Riles Kafka Scholars

Experts have uneasy dreams about author's proclivities

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 15, 2008 10:23 AM CDT

(Newser) – Literary circles are in an uproar over a new biography of Franz Kafka that says the existentialist author had a penchant for porn, the Guardian reports. Kafka expert James Hawes, who says he unearthed some of the not-exactly-mainstream magazines the author enjoyed, makes the claim in a new book and says he was "genuinely shocked when I first saw it." Other Kafka scholars are outraged.

"This is some idiot who knows nothing about Kafka, but writes about him as if he did," thundered one Kafka critic. Another expert called Hawes a "preacher of hate." Hawes, in turn, charges that a "conspiracy of censorship" is trying to run him down and cover up Kafka's porn fetish.

A new biography claiming Franz Kafka had a penchant for porn has infuriated the Kafka literary establishment.
A new biography claiming Franz Kafka had a penchant for porn has infuriated the Kafka literary establishment.   (Flickr)
A new biography of Franz Kafka has infuriated the   Kafka literary establishment.
A new biography of Franz Kafka has infuriated the Kafka literary establishment.   (Getty Images)
Franz Kafka's home in Prague. A new biography has infuriated the Kafka literary establishment.
Franz Kafka's home in Prague. A new biography has infuriated the Kafka literary establishment.   ((c) hyunlab)
Kafka's grave. A new biography claiming he had a penchant for porn has infuriated the Kafka literary establishment.
Kafka's grave. A new biography claiming he had a penchant for porn has infuriated the Kafka literary establishment.   ((c) LWY)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne