A licence from Spain, in the format of the European Community

A driver's license/licence or driving licence is an official document which states that a person may operate a motorized vehicle, such as a motorcycle, car, truck or a bus, on a public roadway. The laws relating to the licensing of drivers vary between jurisdictions. In some jurisdictions, a license is issued after the recipient has passed a driving test, while in others, a person acquires a license before beginning to drive. Different categories of license often exist for different types of motor vehicles, particularly large trucks and passenger vehicles. The difficulty of the driving test varies considerably between jurisdictions, as do factors such as age and the required level of practice.

History[link]

The world's first license to drive a motor vehicle, issued to Karl Benz upon his request.

The first license to drive a motor vehicle was issued to the inventor of the modern automobile, Karl Benz, in 1888. Because the noise and smell of his Motorwagen resulted in complaints by the citizens of Mannheim, Benz requested and received written permission by the Grand Ducal authorities to operate his car on public roads.^[1]

Up until the start of the 20th century, European authorities issued licenses to drive motor vehicles similarly ad hoc, if at all.^[1] The first locality to require a mandatory license and testing was Prussia, on September 29, 1903. The Dampfkesselüberwachungsverein ("steam boiler supervision association") was charged with conducting the tests, which were mainly concerned with the driver's mechanical aptitude.^[1] In 1910, the German imperial government mandated the licensing of drivers on a national scale, establishing a system of tests and driver's education requirements that would serve as a model for the licensing laws of other countries.^[1] Other countries in Europe also introduced driving tests during the twentieth century, the last of them being Belgium where, until 1977, it was possible to purchase and hold a license without having to undergo a driving test.^[2]

As automobile-related fatalities soared in North America, public outcry provoked legislators to begin studying the French and German statutes as models.^[3] On August 1, 1910, North America's first licensing law for motor vehicles went into effect in the U.S. state of New York, though it initially applied only to professional chauffeurs.^[4] In July 1913, the state of New Jersey became the first to require all drivers to pass a mandatory examination before receiving a license.^[5]

Identification[link]

A non-professional driving licence of Bangladesh. A driving licence in Bangladesh is considered a standard form of identification as good as a passport.

Because a large number of countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States have no national identification cards and because of the widespread use of cars, driver's licenses are often used as a de facto standard form of identification.

Many European countries, New Zealand and Canada require drivers to produce their license on demand when driving. In such countries, the driver must always carry their license on them when driving. In the United Kingdom, it is not necessary for drivers to carry their license while driving. However, if stopped, a driver may be required to produce their license at a nominated police station within seven days. The police issue a form for this purpose.^[6]

Some European countries require adults to carry identification at all times. A driving license is not necessarily valid as identification in every European country.

In China, Hong Kong, Dominican Republic, Spain, Sweden and Venezuela, the driver's license number is the same as the citizen's ID number. A license in Hong Kong carries the same number as the holder's ID card, but has no photograph. Upon inspection both must be presented. Plans to make the newly phased in Smart ID contain driving license information have been shelved.

Similarly, Saudi Arabia and Poland requires all drivers to carry an ID card in addition to a license and present them whenever requested. In Saudi Arabia using a license instead is only permitted if the request is made for on-site inspection/identification purposes, especially at checkpoints. Expatriates may be requested to present their visas as well. In Poland special vehicle registration card and prove of obligatory insurance is also driver's requirement, and neither vehicle registration card nor insurance receipt can't be used for person identification purposes.

License alternatives in the USA and Canada[link]

The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (December 2010)

In addition to the standard driver's license and commercial licenses there are other types of driving identification:

Non-driver's identification cards[link]

In a case where a person does not have a license (e.g., someone who is unable or chooses not to drive), a state identification card may be issued by the same agency or department which issues driver's licenses. The state I.D. card typically resembles a license and has the same security and identification features as a license but without extending driving privileges. Rules concerning this may vary state to state, but this can serve as identification for legal immigrants and international visitors (usually stipulating length of stay by the expiry date, or only valid for 1 year if no date is listed) ^[7] An existing driver's license can be turned in, to exchange for an identification card (giving up the privilege of driving). Requirements needed to obtain a non-driver’s identification card vary by jurisdiction.

Enhanced driver's licenses[link]

Additionally, some provinces and states (British Columbia, Manitoba, Michigan, New York, Ontario, Quebec, Vermont, and Washington) are issuing Enhanced Driver's Licenses. These are not permits allowing motorists to drive in an enhanced manner but contain ID features like enhanced ID cards.^[8] Enhanced licenses essentially combine a regular driver's license with the same specifications of the new U.S. passport card. Thus in addition to proving driving privileges, the enhanced license also is proof of U.S. citizenship (for EDLs/EIDs issued in the United States) or Canadian citizenship (for EDLs/EIDs issued in Canada), and can therefore be used to cross the U.S.-Canadian and U.S.-Mexican borders by road, rail, or sea, but not air (this will always require a traditional passport book) ^[9] The enhanced licenses are also fully Real ID compliant. These cards have RFID so they may be used at border crossings that have RFID readers.

On March 27, 2008, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced that Washington's enhanced driver's license^[10] was the first such license approved under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative;^[11] according to a Homeland Security press release, the department is also working with Arizona, New York, and Vermont authorities to develop enhanced driver's licenses.^[12] On September 16, 2008, NYS began to issue WHTI-Compliant Enhanced driver licenses (EDL).^[13] Texas was expected to also implement an enhanced driver's license program, but the program has been blocked by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, despite a state law authorizing the Texas Department of Public Safety to issue EDLs and a ruling by the state attorney general, Greg Abbott, that Texas's production of EDLs would comply with federal requirements.^[14][15]

Licenses for different categories of vehicles[link]

Driver's licenses within the European Union are subdivided into different categories.

In a number of countries (including the United States, New Zealand and some provinces of Canada) people who drive commercially (especially truckers and taxi drivers) are required to have special licenses. For taxicab drivers, these licenses are usually called Chauffeur Permits. In most cases, commercial truckers must hold a commercial driver's license or CDL. In India, a commercial driving license is valid for 5 years while an individual license is valid for 20 years. In the United Kingdom, one must hold a Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV) license to drive a vehicle with more than eight passenger seats for hire or reward, or a Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) license to drive a vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Weight (Maximum Authorized Mass) in excess of 3 500 kg. Special licenses can also be required in order to transport hazardous materials. The cost of taking the series of tests and examinations to obtain these licenses usually means that an employer would subsidize his or her drivers.

Categories for driver's licenses are standardized throughout the European Union; see European driving licence.

In India, people aged more than 50 years have to undergo strict medical tests in order to obtain a license. The license validity is five years and requires renewal every five years.

Organ donations[link]

Licensing bureaus in many countries add an organ donation option on license forms. Sometimes a small picture of a heart or the term Organ Donor is printed on the driver's license, to indicate that he/she has agreed to donate his/her organs in case of a sudden death, such as in a car accident.

In the United States, this is governed by the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act. In New Zealand and Republic of Ireland, willingness to donate organs for transplantion is also listed on driver's licenses. In Australia, the system of notating organ donation requests on licenses was replaced in July 2005 with a national registration system and the issue of special cards.

Driver's licenses by region[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2010)

Africa[link]

Egypt[link]

Egyptian citizens are entitled to a driver's license once they have reached the age of 18. To obtain their licenses, applicants must pass a driving test as well as several computer tests.

In order to pass, all a person had to do was drive six meters forward and then reverse six meters. However, the test was updated to make it more difficult, now the applicant has to answer 8 out of 10 correct answers in a computer test, then pass a forward & reverse S-track test in addition to an assessment of parking skills.

Ghana[link]

Driver's licensing in Ghana is conducted by the nation's Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority. The legal driving age is 18.

Morocco[link]

The legal driving age of Moroccan Citizens is 18.^{[citation needed]}

South Africa[link]

The minimum driving age in South Africa is 18, except for small motorcycles which may be driven from the age of 16. To obtain a license, applicants must pass a written or computer-based test to obtain a learner's license, and then pass a road test to obtain the driving license.

Europe[link]

The European Union has adopted a common format for driving licenses, and a common set of driving license categories. They were introduced to replace the 110 different plastic and paper driving licenses. The common format with the same information in the same place on all licenses allows the driving license to be understood, even if it is in a different language.

Ireland[link]

Norway[link]

The minimim age for getting a driver's license in Norway is 16 for A1, T (tractor), 18 for A-C and 21 for D. The driver's licenses are always revoked when he/she has reached an age of 100.

Romania[link]

The minimum age for obtaining a driver's license in Romania is 16 for A1, 18 for A, B, BE, Tr, C, CE and 21 for D, DE, Tb, Tv, D1 and D1E. In order to obtain a driver's license, a person must follow a driving school with a duration depending on the desired category and pass a theory and road exam.

Russia[link]

United Kingdom[link]

The minimum driving age in the United Kingdom is 16 for mopeds under 50 cc, and 17 for cars and motorcycles. Access to motorcycles producing more than 25 kW (34 hp) is restricted to riders with two years experience or aged 21.^[16] UK Overseas Territories (colonies) and Crown Dependencies issue their own driving licences.. The design of the Bermuda driving licence has been changed to conform to a common European layout, in accordance with the UK´s agreements with its European partners. There is no legal requirement to carry a driving licence in the UK although it must be produced at a Police station within 7 days if required to do so by a police officer^[17]

North America[link]

Canada[link]

The age to obtain a driver's licence in Canada varies by province, as do the necessary procedures. The minimum age for obtaining a driver's license to drive solo in most provinces is 16. The territories vary.

United States[link]

The eligible age varies substantially by state, but nationally by age 16 one can obtain a license after passing the requisite tests and drive without adult supervision. Since the driver's license is a commonplace document that carries much of the necessary information needed for identification, it has become the primary method of identification in the United States.^[18]

Caribbean[link]

In Barbados, a person 16 years or over can apply for a Learner's Permit which allows them to drive for a specified period with an accompanying tutor. During that period they will be tested on their driving skill and their knowledge of road signs and traffic laws. On passing both the written and driving test the licence is issued. Once issued a driver's licence is valid for a period of one to five years depending on which period of time the driver chooses to pay for. On the expiry of the period for which the licence is issued, it will become renewable on the last day of the driver's birth month and will again be valid for the time period for which payment is made. Visitors and non-nationals who are the holders of a valid driver's licence issued in their country of residence or origin are not allowed to drive automatically in Barbados but must go to a police station to have a temporary local driver's licence issued. The licence is issued on payment of a fee and the production of the visitor's existing licence.

Mexico[link]

A driver is allowed a driver's permit at the age of 15, with the cost of approximately 100 dollars, a duration of a year, and requiring to drive with an adult at all times. At the age of 16, the fee drops to 30 dollars, and is basically the same license as an adult, only with a two year expiration date (until the majority of age). When a driver turns 18, he or she is allowed the License.

Jamaica[link]

A citizen may obtain a learner's permit once he or she is age 17. A learner will get their driver's license upon being proven competent, only through the results of both a written and practical test. This license expires on the holder's fifth birthday after the date of issue.

Costa Rica[link]

Every vehicle driver must carry a driver's license (Licencia de Conducir), which is issued by COSEVI (Consejo de Seguridad Vial) of the ministry of transportation and public infrastructure (Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transporte).

For this license to be granted there are three needed tests, practical driving (includes driving a car in simulated streets), theoretical driving (a multiple selection written test based on booklet issued by the education department or after taking a special course), and finally a medical test performed by a medical practitioner that tests eyesight, blood pressure and attests the presence of other diseases and behavior of the driver.

Every citizen can solicit a driver's license at age 18, after being issued the first time, the license must be renewed after two years, and every successive occasion after five years.^[19] Foreigners may also obtain a drivers' license if they have residency.

Besides this document the driver must carry the national identity card (Cédula de Identidad), however both documents use the same identification number, the national identity card being the basis of the driver's license number.

South America[link]

Brazil[link]

Peru[link]

The minimun age for a driving license is 18 years old. It is obtained via a test in a car, a computer and the applicant must present a vision test which says they are permitted to drive.

Asia[link]

India[link]

In India, being a state matter, each Indian state has a "Regional Transport Authority or "RTOs" (Regional Transport Offices) that issues licences. Minimum age is 18 years for all vehicles, however motor cycle having engine capacity below 50 cc may be driven at age of 16.

Pakistan[link]

Pakistani driver's license issued by Lahore District Police.

The minimum age for eligibility for learner's permit is 18 years de facto; as the driver's information is saved against the Computerized National ID Card number which is issued at the age of 18. The License Issuing Authorities vary to each district and work under the relative District Police. New credit card formate driving licence has been introduced.The licence bears the digital photo,signature and blood group information of card holder.The record of violation is stored automatcally in the database .

Lahore District[link]

To obtain a driver's license in Lahore District one must register for the learner's permit at any of the local District Police's designated license offices and after 42 days can apply for test for a regular full license. The test phase consists of a theory based test followed by a short practical test. Only the ones who pass the theory test are allowed to take the practical test. The whole test stage is a single day process where both the tests are to be taken the same day. The driving license currently issued hold basic information of the Driver including Name, Father Name, Date of birth, Address, Authorized Vehicle Types, Emergency Contact, Blood Group, Fingerprint Impression, Driver Photo. The license also has a magnetic strip but its viability is yet to be made public.

Rawalpindi District[link]

License issuing authority is Chief Traffic Officer. In-charge of Licensing Branch is a DSP Traffic HQ, who is also given a charge of issuing licenses on behalf of CTO. The said DSP is further responsible for managerial and driving tests issues, under the supervision of Chief Traffic Officer.^[20]

Oceania[link]

Australia[link]

The minimum driving age varies between 16 to 18 years of age in different States and Territories. After the minimum age, a graduated licensing scheme operates, with state variations.

New Zealand[link]

The minimum age to obtain a Learner Licence is now 16 in New Zealand, formerly 15.

Cook Islands[link]

Cook Islands driving licences are issued at police headquarters on Rarotonga, on production of a valid licence from the visitor's home country. To use a scooter or motor cycle (the main hire vehicles for tourists) a short test has to be taken by anyone whose home licence is only valid for cars, in which a police officer observes the applicant riding up and down the main street of the capital.

International considerations[link]

Many groups of countries have agreed to recognize driver's licenses issued by authorities of any of its members. Examples include the European Union and the GCC, where holders of driver's licenses issued by any member state can drive in all member states. Most countries worldwide will also recognize the licenses of citizens of foreign states wishing to drive as visitors. All EU member countries now issue licenses in a standard format, regardless of the language of the license.^[21]

The International Driving Permit (IDP) (sometimes erroneously called the International Driver's License) is a booklet which is an authorized translation of a driver's home license into many languages (especially languages with non-Latin scripts such as Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.). In some cases, it is obtained from a motoring organization such as the Automobile Association or the equivalent in the driver's home country. In other cases, it is delivered by the same government services that deliver ordinary licenses. The IDP has no validity except when used in conjunction with the driver's own license. The existence of the IDP is necessitated by many countries refusing to recognize driver's licenses written in foreign languages without accompanying translations.

Temporary visitors from the United States to France (less than 90 days) are permitted to drive with a valid U.S. state driver's license. In addition to holding a U.S. driver's license, visitors are advised (but not required) to carry an International Driving permit, or attach a French translation to their U.S. state driver's license.

The People's Republic of China at present does not recognize IDPs (although Hong Kong and Macau do) and requires drivers to get an additional PRC license before being officially allowed on all roads. Holders of foreign licenses are exempt from certain requirements when obtaining a PRC license.

A minimum driving age often exists regardless of possession of a foreign license; an American cannot drive below the local minimum age in Europe, nor can a 17-year-old Briton drive in mainland Europe where the minimum age is 18.^[22]

Many countries have established a driver's license exchange arrangement after reviews of the foreign jurisdiction's licensing processes. Where standards in the other jurisdiction are comparable in areas such as medical standards, minimum driving age, and knowledge and road testing, an exchange (or honoring) of the foreign jurisdiction's license may occur. ^[23] This may also be called Driver’s License Reciprocity.^[24]

Issues when moving permanently from one country to another[link]

Most license-issuing authorities require holders of foreign licenses taking up residence in their jurisdiction to obtain a local driver's license within a limited time (typically 6 months or 1 year). In most cases, the driver must follow the full local procedure for obtaining a license, but some jurisdictions have mutual recognition agreements and will exchange the foreign license for a local one without the need to undertake an additional driving test.

An exception is the EU, where licenses do not need to be exchanged since the introduction of the common EU-driver's-license scheme.

Canada[link]

British Columbia has a reciprocal license exchange scheme with other Canadian provinces and territories as well other countries provided the license is valid or has been expired for less than three years.^[25] Ontario has a reciprocal license exchange scheme for Canadian provinces and territories, Canadian Forces Europe, and some other countries.^[26] Quebec has a reciprocal license exchange scheme for Canadian provinces and territories, Canadian Forces Europe, American states and other countries.^[27]

France[link]

U.S. state driver's licenses can be exchanged from the 15 states below during the first year of legal residence in France: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.^[28]

If you are a resident of France (holder of a carte de séjour or carte de residence), you may drive in France with a valid U.S. state driver's license for a one-year recognition period, beginning on the date of validity of the first carte de séjour (exception for students who are allowed to use their driver's license for the duration of their studies). In addition to having your U.S. state driver's license, residents are also required to attach a French translation done by a sworn translator (expert traducteur or traducteur assermenté).

Germany[link]

The U.S. Embassy, supported by the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany, continues to actively press all U.S. states to reach an agreement on the reciprocal recognition of driver's licenses with Germany, essentially a waiver of testing requirements.^[29]

Hong Kong[link]

As stated on the application form for direct issue of full Hong Kong driving licence (Rev. 11/2008),^[30] when a person has documentary evidence to the Commissioner's satisfaction that all of the following apply, the person is eligible to direct issue of a Hong Kong licence:

• One has a full driving licence (but not an International driving permit) during the past three years issued by one of the following countries or places: Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, China (includes Macau), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, Namibia, Taiwan, United Kingdom (together with Alderney, Bermuda, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey), United States.
• The driving entitlement(s) for which one is applying must be equivalent to the class(es) which are authorized to drive by the issuing country or place; and
• The driving license was obtained by passing the relevant driving test(s) in the issuing country or place; and
• Satisfies one of the three requirements below:
  • The licence was originally issued on any date during a period of residence of not less than 6 months in the country or place of issue (entry and departure stamps on a passport, school transcript or employer's testimonial with employment period specified are accepted as proof); or
  • The licence has been issued for not less than 5 years immediately before the application; or
  • Hold a passport or an equivalent travel document of the country or place in which the licence was issued.

Singapore[link]

A foreigner above 18 years of age and holding a Work Pass/Dependent Pass/Student Pass may drive in Singapore with a valid class 3, 3A or 2B foreign licence, for a period of not more than 12 months. A Singapore driving licence is required after 12 months. Those on short term social visit may drive with their foreign licence for up to 12 months each time they enter into Singapore. For licences not written in English language, an International Driving Permit or translation is required.

Foreign license conversion is only granted for class 2B and class 3 qualified driving licences.

In order to convert your foreign licence to a Singapore driving licence, you are required to pass the Basic Theory Test (BTT). Overseas theory test results are not admissible for consideration.^[31]

Sweden[link]

Residents in Sweden having a foreign license can exchange it to a Swedish license, if it is from a EU country, an EEA country, Switzerland or Japan.^[32] Foreign licenses are valid if the holder has not been living in Sweden for more than a year (and some more requirements).

United Kingdom[link]

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which licenses drivers in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, exchanges full licences issued by:^[33]

• Northern Ireland (Although part of UK, licences are issued by the DVA),
• EEA and Switzerland,
• The British Crown Dependencies
• Gibraltar and other British Overseas Territories,
• Australia, Barbados, Faroe Islands, Hong Kong, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
• Canada (by default, Canadian driver's licenses will only be exchanged for licences to drive automatic transmission cars, unless documentary evidence is provided that a manual shift test was passed in Canada)

United States[link]

Delaware has a reciprocal license exchange for Germany and France.^[34]

A District of Columbia driver's license may be obtained while maintaining out-of-country driver’s license. D.C. driver's licenses may vary for non-U.S. citizens, depending on visa classification. The written test is required for non-U.S. citizens who possess an out-of-country driver's license.^[35]

Florida has a reciprocal license agreement with South Korea.^[36]

Nevada drivers who have never been licensed or those who currently hold a license from a foreign country or a U.S. territory must take vision, knowledge (written) and skills (driving) tests.^[37]

New York State driver's license may be obtained by a resident of another country. If the driver has a driver license from any nation except Canada, they must pass a written test, complete a 5-hour pre-licensing course and pass a road test to qualify for a NY State driver's license.^[38]

Washington State has a reciprocal license exchange for Germany, South Korea, and British Columbia.^[39]

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Driver's licenses

• Commercial driver's license
• Driver's Education
• Learner's permit
• International Driving Permit
• Road-traffic safety
• Vehicle category
• List of countries by minimum driving age

References[link]

External links[link]

• Information from the European Union in driving licences throughout the Community

Jim Wallis

Jim Wallis (born June 4, 1948) is a Christian writer and political activist. He is best known as the founder and editor of Sojourners magazine and as the founder of the Washington, D.C.-based Christian community of the same name. Wallis is well-known for his advocacy on issues of peace and social justice. Although Wallis actively eschews political labels, he describes himself as an evangelical and is often associated with the evangelical left and the wider Christian left. He works as a spiritual advisor to President Barack Obama.^[1] He is married to the Rev. Joy Carroll, who was one of the first female priests in the Church of England.^[2] He is also a leader in the Red-Letter Christian movement.^[3]

Early life[link]

Born in Detroit, Michigan and raised in a traditional evangelical Plymouth Brethren family,^[4] as a young man Wallis became active in Students for a Democratic Society^[5][6] and the civil rights movement. Wallis graduated from Michigan State University and attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois, where he joined with other young seminarians in establishing the community that eventually became Sojourners. The journal Sojourners originated in Deerfield, Illinois as The Post American in 1971.

Theology[link]

Wallis wrote in 1974 that, "The new evangelical consciousness is most characterized by a return to biblical Christianity and the desire to apply biblical insights to the need for new forms of sociopolitical engagement."^[7]

A reviewer of Wallis' 1976 book Agenda for Biblical People summarized the Christological basis of Wallis' political theology:

"Christ's life, death, and resurrection have brought victory over 'the powers.' He shattered the myth of their absolute authority by demonstrating his freedom in relation to them. He challenged their rule and would not submit to them. Indeed, the fallen powers were so exposed and threatened by Christ's actions that they acted in collusion to kill him. The cross symbolizes that freedom in which death is swallowed up in victory. Christ's resurrection vindicates his manner of life and death, seats his victory, and allows others to live freely and humanly in the midst of 'the powers' by their 'being in Christ.' This must be the proclamation and witness of the church of Jesus Christ. The church is a new force in history which is a sign to 'the powers' that their dominion has been broken. The very presence of a body of people who exercise their moral independence is an essential element for Wallis because 'without a visible and concrete demonstration of independence, all the church's outward attacks upon the institutions of the world will be doomed to failure.'"^[8]

Writing in Sojourners in 1980, Wallis said, "Proclamation of the gospel, charismatic gifts, social action, and prophetic witness alone do not finally offer a real threat to the world as it is, especially when set apart from a community which incarnates a whole new order. It is the ongoing life of a community of faith that issues a basic challenge to the world as it is, and offers a viable and concrete alternative. The church must be called to be the church, to rebuild the kind of community that gives substance to the claims of faith."^[9]

Wallis has been quoted as saying, "I would suggest that the Bible is neither “conservative” nor “liberal” as we understand those terms in a political context today… It is traditional or conservative on issues of family values, sexual integrity, and personal responsibility, while being progressive, populist, or even radical on issues like poverty and racial justice."^[10] Speaking to a conference of clergy from the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool (The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire, UK, 23 June 2009) Wallis said, "The press don't get it - they say, 'Have you replaced the religious right with the religious left?'" Rather, he says that his Christian commitment does not allow him to align with any political wing - on some issues, his views would be counted as coming from the left, on others, from the right. "Don't go left, don't go right: go deeper."

Political and social influence[link]

Wallis was invited by Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) to give the Democrats' weekly radio address on Saturday, December 2, 2006. He spoke about the importance of moral leadership in Washington, and touched on a variety of social concerns.^[11] In February 2007 he wrote in Time about the post-Religious Right era and the resurgence of mainstream Christianity, with evangelicals "deserting the Religious Right in droves".^[12] Wallis has served on the Advisory Council to President Barack Obama's Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.^[13] He serves as a spiritual adviser to President Obama.^[1]

In addition to President Obama, Wallis has developed personal friendships with former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown^[14] and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. In his 2010 book Rediscovering Values, Wallis writes, "I consider Rudd one of the most hopeful young political leaders in the world today, a committed Christian who seeks to apply his faith to his public service; we consider each other good friends."^[15]

Wallis has appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, discussing faith and politics.^[16]

He has appeared on the Democracy Now! show.^{[17][18] [19][20][21]}

In discussing the 2004 American presidential elections, Wallis said "Jesus didn’t speak at all about homosexuality. There are about 12 verses in the Bible that touch on that question. Most of them are very contextual. There are thousands of verses on poverty. I don’t hear a lot of that conversation."^[22] Regarding same-sex marriage, Wallis has made the following remarks: "I don't think the sacrament of marriage should be changed. Some people say that Jesus didn't talk about homosexuality, and that's technically true. But marriage is all through the Bible, and it's not gender-neutral. I have never done a blessing for a same-sex couple. I've never been asked to do one. I'm not sure that I would. I want churches that disagree on this to have a biblical, theological conversation and to live with their differences and not spend 90 percent of their denominational time arguing about this issue when 30,000 children are dying every single day because of poverty and disease."^[23]

Wallis is listed as a supporter of the Consistent Life Ethic, an ideology that includes opposition to abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty.^[24] In a 2008 interview with Christianity Today, Wallis expressed strong support for abortion reduction, adding that "I don't think that abortion is the moral equivalent issue to slavery that Wilberforce dealt with. I think that poverty is the new slavery. Poverty and global inequality are the fundamental moral issues of our time. That's my judgment."^[25] A 2008 Newsweek article states that "Jim Wallis devoted a significant chunk of his latest book, 'The Great Awakening,' to outlining his views on abortion. The evangelical leader wrote in favor of 'protecting unborn life in every possible way, but without criminalizing abortion.'" Wallis added, "Everybody tends to agree that preventing unwanted pregnancies is a good thing. I'm saying, let's take it to the next step and say that abortion reduction is a good thing too. It's about providing options—not taking away a woman's right to choose, but making things like adoption easier."^[26]

In August 2009, he signed a public statement encouraging all Christians to "read, wrestle with, and respond to Caritas in Veritate", the social encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI.^[27] A few months earlier, it was speculated that Wallis might have been chosen for the post of Vatican ambassador, but theologian Miguel H. Diaz was selected instead.^[28]

Wallis supported President Obama's health care legislation, and reportedly signed a letter urging that the legislation be passed even if it did not contain language explicitly banning federal funding for abortion.^[29][30][31] In 2009, Wallis made the following comments regarding Sarah Palin within the context of the health care reform debate in the United States: "Sarah, you're the one who is acting in an 'evil' way. After listening to your policy pronouncements during the campaign, many Americans decided, generously, that you weren't ready yet for high political office. Others thought you just weren't very smart. But this statement last week really does clear up the question for me. You are speaking like a demagogue in the worst tradition of those who knowingly distort and deceive, for their own political purposes. You want to stoke people's worst fears and then, hopefully, they will look to someone like you to be their leader. You're not stupid after all. You know that neither President Obama, nor anyone else in this health-care debate, would deny health care for your parents or child, and that none of the ideas being debated would suggest that. But people are confused and concerned, so you see your chance to prey upon their misunderstandings. Politics for people like you is really all about you, your fame and power, and your taste of it during the last election has revealed what kind of politician you truly are. Please don't invoke your 'Christian faith' anymore and embarrass the people of God even further. May your efforts to scare Americans during this important debate fail. May your political future also fail, and may your star fall as fast as it rose just a few months ago -- because we now know who you really are."^[5]

In 2010, Wallis admitted to accepting money for Sojourners from philanthropist George Soros after initially denying having done so. When conservative writer Marvin Olasky pointed this out, and that Soros also financed groups supporting abortion, atheism, and same-sex marriage, in a WORLD magazine column, Wallis said Olasky "lies for a living"; he subsequently apologized to Olasky for the comments.^[32][33] In 2011, Wallis acknowledged that Sojourners had received another $150,000.00 from Soros' Open Society Foundation.^[34]

In 2010, expressing concern about the growing polarization in American politics, Wallis and other Christian leaders signed on to a document entitled "A Covenant for Civility."^[35]

In regard to the 2011 United States budget proposal, Wallis described Congressman Paul Ryan and his congressional allies as "bullies" and "hypocrites."^[36]

Wallis made supportive comments regarding the Occupy London movement in a blog post entitled "Occupy St. Paul's: Thanks Be to God."^[37] Regarding the Occupy Wall Street movement, Wallis wrote, "The Occupiers' desire for change and willingness to take action to do something about it should be an inspiration to us all."^[38]

Activism[link]

Wallis has been arrested 22 times for acts of civil disobedience.^[13] He was involved in antiwar activism during the Vietnam War, and wrote in 1974 that it was a "brutal, criminal war."^[39] Wallis has received criticism for calling the United States "a fallen nation" in his 1976 book Agenda for Biblical People.

Writings and Awards[link]

Wallis' writings are regularly published as op-eds in major media outlets. He is also the convener of Call to Renewal, an interfaith effort to end poverty. He has written a wide variety of books including The Great Awakening. Reviving Faith & Politics in a Post-Religious Right America (2008), God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It (2005), Faith Works: How Faith Based Organizations Are Changing Lives, Neighborhoods, and America (2000), The Soul of Politics: Beyond "Religious Right" and "Secular Left" (1995) and Call to Conversion (1981, revised 2005).

In 1995 Jim Wallis received the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award.

For his work in advocating for peace and social justice in urban America and for his role as founder of Sojourners Magazine and the Call to Renewal, Jim Wallis was awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience award in Sherborn, Massachusetts, on June 2, 2000.^[40]

Personal life[link]

Wallis is married to the Rev. Joy Carroll, upon whom the title character in the BBC sitcom The Vicar of Dibley was partially based.^[2] They have two sons. Wallis has coached their Little League teams.^[41]

Publications[link]

• Agenda for Biblical People, Harper & Row (1976) ISBN 978-0-06-069236-0.
• The Call to Conversion, Harper & Row (1981) ISBN 978-0-06-069242-1, HarperCollins (Rev. ed., 2005) ISBN 978-0-06-084237-6.
• Waging Peace: A Handbook for the Struggle to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (editor), Harper & Row (1982) ISBN 978-0-06-069240-7.
• The Soul of Politics: A practical and prophetic vision of change, Fount/HarperCollins (1994) ISBN 978-0-15-600328-5, Tandem Library ISBN 978-1-4177-0619-8.
• Who Speaks for God? A New Politics of Compassion, Community and Civility, Delacorte (1996) ISBN 978-0-385-31690-3, Random House (1997) ISBN 978-0-385-31693-4
• Faith Works: Lessons from the Life of an Activist Preacher, Random House (2000) ISBN 978-1-879290-23-5 (Rev. ed. with new subtitle: How to Live Your Beliefs and Ignite Positive Social Change, 2005)
• God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It HarperOne (2005) ISBN 978-0-06-055828-4.
• Living God's Politics: A Guide to Putting Your Faith into Action HarperOne (2006) ISBN 978-0-06-111841-8.
• The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America HarperOne (2008) ISBN 978-0-06-055829-1.
• Rediscovering Values: On Main Street, Wall Street, and Your Street, Howard Books (2010) ISBN 978-1-4391-8312-0.

See also[link]

• Christian radicalism
• Engaged Spirituality
• Evangelical left
• Progressive Christianity
• Social Gospel

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sojourners
  • Official biography
• Sojourners on YouTube
• God's Politics, a blog by Jim Wallis and friends
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Jim Wallis on Charlie Rose
• Jim Wallis at the Internet Movie Database
• Jim Wallis collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Works by or about Jim Wallis in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Interviews and statements

• Interview with Jim Wallis
• Jim Wallis Talk from an Off The Map live event
• Jim Wallis featured in the documentary The Ordinary Radicals
• "Where Jim Wallis Stands", Christianity Today, May 2008.
• "Progressive Evangelical Politics", Inner Compass interview with Wallis, October 2008, video
• How Obama's Faith Council Worked: Six Points of Consensus Jim Wallis, God's Politics blog
• Jim Wallis: Glenn Beck Is Wrong, Social Justice Is At The Heart Of Gospel video by MSNBC
• Left Behind: The Evangelical Left and the Limits of Evangelical Politics, 1965-1988, Vol. 1 David R. Swartz, doctoral dissertation, Graduate Program in History, University of Notre Dame, July 2008. (pdf)

Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka in 1906
Born	(1883-07-03)3 July 1883 Prague, Austria-Hungary
Died	3 June 1924(1924-06-03) (aged 40) Kierling near Vienna, First Republic of Austria
Occupation	Insurance officer, factory manager, novelist, short story writer
Language	German
Nationality	Austria-Hungary
Genres	Fiction, short story
Literary movement	Modernism, magic realism, existentialism
Notable work(s)	The Trial, The Castle, The Metamorphosis
Influenced José Saramago[1]
Signature	File:Kafka.gif

Franz Kafka (German pronunciation: [fʁants ˈkafka]; 3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was an influential German-language author of novels and short stories. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov,^[2] regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century. The term "Kafkaesque" has become part of the English language.

Kafka was born to middle class, German-speaking, Jewish parents, in Prague, Bohemia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The house in which he was born, on the Old Town Square next to Prague's Church of St Nicholas, now contains a permanent exhibition devoted to the author.

Most of Kafka's writing, including the large body of his unfinished work, was published posthumously.^[3]

Early history[link]

Kafka at the age of five

Franz Kafka was born into a middle-class Ashkenazi Jewish family in Prague (now the Czech Republic). His father, Hermann Kafka (1852–1931), was described as a "huge, selfish, overbearing businessman"^[4] and by Kafka himself as "a true Kafka in strength, health, appetite, loudness of voice, eloquence, self-satisfaction, worldly dominance, endurance, presence of mind, [and] knowledge of human nature".^[5] Hermann was the fourth child of Jacob Kafka, a shochet or ritual slaughterer, and came to Prague from Osek, a Czech-speaking Jewish village near Písek in southern Bohemia. After working as a traveling sales representative, he established himself as an independent retailer of men's and women's fancy goods and accessories, employing up to 15 people and using a jackdaw (kavka in Czech) as his business logo. Kafka's mother, Julie (1856–1934), was the daughter of Jakob Löwy, a prosperous brewer in Poděbrady, and was better educated than her husband.^[6]

Franz was the eldest of six children.^[7] He had two younger brothers: Georg and Heinrich, who died at the ages of fifteen months and seven months, respectively, before Franz was seven; and three younger sisters, Gabriele ("Ellie") (1889–1944), Valerie ("Valli") (1890–1944) and Ottilie ("Ottla") (1892–1943). On business days, both parents were absent from the home. Franz's mother helped to manage her husband's business and worked in it as many as 12 hours a day. The children were largely reared by a series of governesses and servants. Kafka's relationship with his father was troubled, as described in the Letter to His Father in which he complained of being profoundly affected by his father's authoritarian and demanding character.

During World War II, the Nazi Germans deported Kafka's sisters with their families to the Łódź Ghetto, where they perished. Ottla was sent to the concentration camp at Theresienstadt. On 7 October 1943 she was transferred to the death camp at Auschwitz.^[8]

Education[link]

Kinsky Palace where Kafka attended Gymnasium and his father later owned a shop

Kafka's native language was German, in which he composed all his literary works. He was also fluent in Czech^[9] and took an interest in Czech literature.^{[10][11][clarification needed]} Later, Kafka acquired some knowledge of French language and culture; one of his favorite authors was Flaubert. From 1889 to 1893, he attended the Deutsche Knabenschule, the boys' elementary school at the Masný trh/Fleischmarkt (meat market), the street now known as Masná street. His Jewish education was limited to his Bar Mitzvah celebration at 13 and going to the synagogue four times a year with his father, which he loathed.^[12] After elementary school, he was admitted to the rigorous classics-oriented state Gymnasium, Altstädter Deutsches Gymnasium, an academic secondary school with eight grade levels, where German was also the language of instruction, at Old Town Square, within the Kinsky Palace. He completed his high school exit exams in 1901.^[13]

Admitted to the Charles-Ferdinand University of Prague, Kafka first studied chemistry, but switched after two weeks to law. This offered a range of career possibilities, which pleased his father, and required a longer course of study that gave Kafka time to take classes in German studies and art history. At the university, he joined a student club, named "Lese- und Redehalle der Deutschen Studenten", which organized literary events, readings and other activities. In the end of his first year of studies, he met Max Brod, who would become a close friend of his throughout his life, together with the journalist Felix Weltsch, who also studied law. Kafka obtained the degree of Doctor of Law on 18 June 1906 and performed an obligatory year of unpaid service as law clerk for the Civil and criminal courts.^[3]

Employment[link]

The former house of Franz Kafka. It now stands as a memorial open to the public without fee, but also contains items related to Kafka and Prague for sale.

On 1 November 1907, he was hired at the Assicurazioni Generali, an Italian insurance company, where he worked for nearly a year. His correspondence during that period witnesses that he was unhappy with his working time schedule—from 8 a.m. (8:00) until 6 p.m. (18:00)^[14]—as it made it extremely difficult for him to concentrate on his writing. On 15 July 1908, he resigned, and two weeks later found more congenial employment with the Worker's Accident Insurance Institute for the Kingdom of Bohemia. The job involved investigating personal injury to industrial workers, such as lost fingers or limbs, and assessing compensation. Industrial accidents of this kind were commonplace at this time. Management professor Peter Drucker credits Kafka with developing the first civilian hard hat while he was employed at the Worker's Accident Insurance Institute, but this is not supported by any document from his employer.^[15] His father often referred to his son's job as insurance officer as a "Brotberuf", literally "bread job", a job done only to pay the bills. While Kafka often claimed that he despised the job, he was a diligent and capable employee. He was also given the task of compiling and composing the annual report and was reportedly quite proud of the results, sending copies to friends and family. In parallel, Kafka was also committed to his literary work. Together with his close friends Max Brod and Felix Weltsch, these three were called "Der enge Prager Kreis", the close-knit Prague circle, which was part of a broader Prague Circle, "a loosely knit group of German-Jewish writers who contributed to the culturally fertile soil of Prague from the 1880s till after World War I."^[16]

In 1911, Karl Hermann, spouse of his sister Elli, asked Kafka to collaborate in the operation of an asbestos factory known as Prager Asbestwerke Hermann and Co. Kafka showed a positive attitude at first, dedicating much of his free time to the business. During that period, he also found interest and entertainment in the performances of Yiddish theatre, despite the misgivings of even close friends such as Max Brod, who usually supported him in everything else. Those performances also served as a starting point for his growing relationship with Judaism.^[17]

Personality[link]

Some sources have claimed that Kafka possessed a schizoid personality disorder^[18]. His work, they claim, not only in The Metamorphosis, but in various other writings, appear to show medium to low-level schizoid characteristics which explain much of his surprising work.^{[19][unreliable source?]} However, a study of Kafka's family and early life by psychoanalyst Alice Miller in her book Thou Shalt Not Be Aware offers a different angle on the sources of Kafka's psychological anguish and his expression of his painful early life in his writings.^{[Full citation needed]}

There are speculations regarding Kafka's sexuality and a possible eating disorder. In a 1988 paper published by the Psychiatric Clinic of the University of Munich "evidence for the hypothesis that the poet Franz Kafka had suffered from an atypical anorexia nervosa is presented."^[20] In his 1995 book Franz Kafka, the Jewish Patient, Sander Gilman is said to investigate "why a Jew might have been considered 'hypochondriac' or 'homosexual' and how Kafka incorporates aspects of these ways of understanding the Jewish male into his own self-image and writing."^[21]

Later years[link]

In 1912, at Max Brod's home, Kafka met Felice Bauer, who lived in Berlin and worked as a representative for a dictaphone company. Over the next five years they corresponded a great deal, met occasionally, and were engaged twice. Their relationship finally ended in 1917.

That same year, Kafka began to suffer from tuberculosis, which required frequent convalescence during which he was supported by his family, most notably his sister Ottla. Despite his fear of being perceived as both physically and mentally repulsive, he impressed others with his boyish, neat and austere good looks, a quiet and cool demeanor, obvious intelligence and dry sense of humor.^[22]

From 1920 Kafka developed an intense relationship with Czech journalist and writer Milena Jesenská. In July 1923, throughout a vacation to Graal-Müritz on the Baltic Sea, he met Dora Diamant and briefly moved to Berlin in the hope of distancing himself from his family's influence to concentrate on his writing. In Berlin, he lived with Diamant, a 25-year-old kindergarten teacher from an orthodox Jewish family, who was independent enough to have escaped her past in the ghetto. She became his lover, and influenced Kafka's interest in the Talmud.^[23]

Kafka's tuberculosis worsened and he returned to Prague. He went to Dr. Hoffmann's sanatorium in Kierling near Vienna for treatment, where he died on 3 June 1924, apparently from starvation. The condition of Kafka's throat made eating too painful for him, and since parenteral nutrition had not yet been developed, there was no way to feed him. He was aged 40 years and 11 months. His body was ultimately brought back to Prague where he was buried on 11 June 1924, in the New Jewish Cemetery (sector 21, row 14, plot 33) in Prague-Žižkov.

Political views[link]

Kafka attended meetings of the Klub Mladých, a Czech anarchist, anti-militarist and anti-clerical organization.^[24] Hugo Bergmann, who attended both the same elementary and high schools as Kafka, had a falling out with Kafka during their last academic year (1900–1901) because "[Kafka's] socialism and my Zionism were much too strident." "Franz became a socialist, I became a Zionist in 1898. The synthesis of Zionism and socialism did not yet exist." Bergmann claims that Kafka openly wore a red carnation to school to show his support for socialism.^[25] In one diary entry, Kafka made reference to influential anarchist philosopher Peter Kropotkin: "Don't forget Kropotkin!"^[26] He later stated, regarding the Czech anarchists: "They all sought thanklessly to realise human happiness. I understood them. But ... I was unable to continue marching alongside them for long."^[27]

Judaism and Zionism[link]

Kafka was well versed in Yiddish literature, and loved Yiddish theatre.^[28]

In his essay, Sadness in Palestine?!, Dan Miron explores Kafka's connection to Zionism. "It seems that those who claim that there was such a connection and that Zionism played a central role in his life and literary work, and those who deny the connection altogether or dismiss its importance, are both wrong. The truth lies in some very elusive place between these two simplistic poles."^[28]

According to James Hawes, Kafka, though much aware of his own Jewishness, did not incorporate his Jewishness into his work. "There is zero actual Jewishness" nor any Jewish characters or specifically Jewish scenes in his work, says Hawes.^[29] In the opinion of literary critic Harold Bloom, author of The Western Canon, however, "Despite all his denials and beautiful evasions, [Kafka's writing] quite simply is Jewish writing."^[17] Lothar Kahn is likewise unequivocal: "The presence of Jewishness in Kafka's oeuvre is no longer subject to doubt."^[30] Pavel Eisner, one of Kafka's first translators, interprets the classic, The Trial, as the "triple dimension of Jewish existence in Prague is embodied in Kafka's The Trial: his protagonist Josef K. is (symbolically) arrested by a German (Rabensteiner), a Czech (Kullich) and a Jew (Kaminer). He stands for the "guiltless guilt" that imbues the Jew in the modern world, although there is no evidence that he himself is a Jew."^[31]

Livia Rothkirchen calls Kafka the "symbolic figure of his era." His era included numerous other Jewish writers (Czech, German and national Jews) who were sensitive to German, Czech, Austrian and Jewish culture. According to Rothkirchen, "This situation lent their writings a broad cosmopolitan outlook and a quality of exaltation bordering on transcendental metaphysical contemplation. An illustrious example is Franz Kafka."^[31]

Literary career[link]

Franz Kafka's grave in Prague-Žižkov.

Kafka's writing attracted little attention until after his death. During his lifetime, he published only a few short stories. He finished the novella "The Metamorphosis", but never finished any of his full length novels. Kafka left his published and unpublished work to his friend and literary executor Max Brod with explicit instructions that it should be destroyed on his (Kafka's) death; Kafka wrote: "Dearest Max, my last request: Everything I leave behind me ... in the way of diaries, manuscripts, letters (my own and others'), sketches, and so on, [is] to be burned unread."^[32][33] Brod decided to ignore this request and went on to publish the novels and collected works between 1925 and 1935. The remaining papers were consigned to suitcases which he carried with him when he fled to Palestine in 1939.^[34] (His lover, Dora Diamant, also ignored his wishes, secretly keeping up to 20 notebooks and 35 letters until they were confiscated by the Gestapo in 1933. An ongoing international search is being conducted for these missing Kafka papers.) Brod, in fact, would oversee the publication of most of Kafka's work in his possession, which soon began to attract attention and high critical regard.

Max Brod encountered significant difficulty in compiling Kafka's notebooks into any chronological order as Kafka was known to start writing in the middle of notebooks, from the last page towards the first, etc.

All of Kafka's published works, except several letters he wrote in Czech to Milena Jesenská, were written in German.

Translation of Kafka's work into English[link]

Kafka often made extensive use of a characteristic particular to the German language allowing for long sentences that sometimes can span an entire page. Kafka's sentences then deliver an unexpected impact just before the full stop—that being the finalizing meaning and focus. This is achieved due to the construction of certain sentences in German which require that the verb be positioned at the end of the sentence. Such constructions are difficult to duplicate in English, so it is up to the resourceful translator to provide the reader with the same (or at least equivalent) effect found in the original text.^[35]

Another virtually insurmountable problem facing translators is how to deal with the author's intentional use of ambiguous terms and of words that have several meanings. One such instance is found in the first sentence of The Metamorphosis. English translators have often sought to render the word Ungeziefer as "insect"; in Middle German, however, Ungeziefer literally means "unclean animal not suitable for sacrifice"^[36] and is sometimes used colloquially to mean "bug" – a very general term, unlike the scientific sounding "insect". Kafka had no intention of labeling Gregor, the protagonist of the story, as any specific thing, but instead wanted to convey Gregor's disgust at his transformation. Another example is Kafka's use of the German noun Verkehr in the final sentence of The Judgment. Literally, Verkehr means intercourse and, as in English, can have either a sexual or non-sexual meaning; in addition, it is used to mean transport or traffic. The sentence can be translated as: "At that moment an unending stream of traffic crossed over the bridge."^[37] What gives added weight to the obvious double meaning of 'Verkehr' is Kafka's confession to Max Brod that when he wrote that final line, he was thinking of "a violent ejaculation".^[38]

Critical interpretations[link]

This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (November 2010)

Jaroslav Róna's bronze statue of Franz Kafka in Prague.

The multivalent nature of Kafka's prose allows for diverse interpretation—and for critics placing his works into a variety of literary schools.^[39] The hopelessness and absurdity populating his works are seen as emblematic of existentialism.^{[citation needed]} Some see a Marxist influence in his satirizing of bureaucracy as in The Castle, The Trial and In the Penal Colony;^[39] others point to anarchism as inspiring his skewering of bureaucracy.^{[citation needed]} Still others interpret his works through the lens of Judaism, especially Freudianism; (Borges made remarks in this regard).^[39] Or, as allegory of a metaphysical quest for God; (Thomas Mann was a proponent of this thesis).^[40]

The alienation and persecution found in Kafka's work are emphasized by critics—with good reason—but over-emphasis of these themes inspired counter-criticism by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. They argue, in Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature, that there is much more to his work than the stereotype of a lonely figure writing out of anguish; that Kafka's work is more deliberate and subversive—and more "joyful"—than may first appear. They point out that reading his work while focusing on the futility of his characters' struggles reveals Kafka's play at humor; that his work here isn't necessarily a reflection of his own struggles—rather it describes how people often invent struggles.^{[citation needed]} Biographers have noted that Kafka would read drafts of his works to his friends, typically concentrating on his humorous prose. Milan Kundera refers to Kafka's essentially surrealist humour as a main influence on later writers such as Federico Fellini, Gabriel García Márquez, Carlos Fuentes and Salman Rushdie.^{[citation needed]} García Márquez noted it was the reading of Kafka's The Metamorphosis that showed him "that it was possible to write in a different way."^{[citation needed]}

Law in Kafka's fiction[link]

Many attempts^[which?] have been made to examine Kafka's legal background and the role of law in his fiction. These attempts remain relatively few in number compared to the vast collection of literature devoted to the study of his life and works, and marginal to legal scholarship. Mainstream studies of Kafka's works normally present his fiction as an engagement with absurdity, a critique of bureaucracy or a search for redemption, failing to account for the images of law and legality which constitute an important part of "the horizon of meaning" in his fiction. The Law in Kafka's works is not usually interpreted to represent any particular legal or political entity. Rather, it is thought to represent the collection of anonymous, incomprehensible forces, hidden from the will and understanding of the individual, that control the lives of the people - innocent victims of systems beyond their control. Critics who support this absurdist interpretation of Kafka cite instances in which Kafka describes himself in conflict with an absurd universe, such as the following entry from his diary: "Enclosed in my own four walls, I found myself as an immigrant imprisoned in a foreign country...I saw my family as strange aliens whose foreign customs, rites, and very language defied comprehension...though I did not want it, they forced me to participate in their bizarre rituals...I could not resist." ^[41]

However, James Hawes argues many of Kafka's descriptions of the legal proceedings in The Trial – metaphysical, absurd, bewildering and "Kafkaesque" as they might appear – are, in fact, based on accurate and informed (although exaggerated) descriptions of German and Austrian criminal proceedings of the time, not well understood by many British or American people, who were familiar with an adversarial rather than inquisitorial system of justice.^[42] Similarly, the requirement for the traveller to register with the authorities in The Castle to stay a night seems repressive and odd to Britons and Americans, whereas in the present-day Germans (and most continental Europeans) are required to register their address (and hoteliers their guests) with the local authorities.^[43]

The significance of law in Kafka's fiction is also neglected within legal scholarship, for as Richard Posner pointed out, most lawyers do not consider writings about law in the form of fiction of any relevance to the understanding or the practice of law. Regardless of the concerns of mainstream studies of Kafka with redemption and absurdity, and what jurists such as Judge Posner might think relevant to law and legal practice, the fact remains that Kafka was an insurance lawyer who, besides being involved in litigation, was also "keenly aware of the legal debates of his day" (Ziolkowski, 2003, p. 224).^[44]

In a recent study which uses Kafka's office writings^[45] as its point of departure, Reza Banakar argues that "legal images in Kafka's fiction are worthy of examination, not only because of their bewildering, enigmatic, bizarre, profane and alienating effects, or because of the deeper theological or existential meaning they suggest, but also as a particular concept of law and legality which operates paradoxically as an integral part of the human condition under modernity.^[46] To explore this point Kafka's conception of law is placed in the context of his overall writing as a search for Heimat which takes us beyond the instrumental understanding of law advocated by various schools of legal positivism and allows us to grasp law as a form of experience" (see Banakar 2010).

Publications[link]

Much of Kafka's work was unfinished, or prepared for publication posthumously by Max Brod. The novels The Castle (which stopped mid-sentence and had ambiguity on content), The Trial (chapters were unnumbered and some were incomplete) and Amerika (Kafka's original title was The Man who Disappeared) were all prepared for publication by Brod. It appears Brod took a few liberties with the manuscript (moving chapters, changing the German and cleaning up the punctuation), and thus the original German text was altered prior to publication. The editions by Brod are generally referred to as the Definitive Editions.

According to the publisher's note^[47] for The Castle,^[48] Malcolm Pasley was able to get most of Kafka's original handwritten work into the Oxford Bodleian Library in 1961. The text for The Trial was later acquired through auction and is stored at the German literary archives^[49] at Marbach, Germany.^[48]

Subsequently, Pasley headed a team (including Gerhard Neumann, Jost Schillemeit and Jürgen Born) in reconstructing the German novels and S. Fischer Verlag republished them.^[50] Pasley was the editor for Das Schloß (The Castle), published in 1982, and Der Prozeß (The Trial), published in 1990. Jost Schillemeit was the editor of Der Verschollene (Amerika) published in 1983. These are all called the "Critical Editions" or the "Fischer Editions." The German critical text of these, and Kafka's other works, may be found online at The Kafka Project.^[51] This site is continuously building the repository.

There is another Kafka Project based at San Diego State University, which began in 1998 as the official international search for Kafka's last writings. Consisting of 20 notebooks and 35 letters to Kafka's last companion, Dora Diamant (later, Dymant-Lask), this missing literary treasure was confiscated from her by the Gestapo in Berlin 1933. The Kafka Project's four-month search of government archives in Berlin in 1998 uncovered the confiscation order and other significant documents. In 2003, the Kafka Project discovered three original Kafka letters, written in 1923. Building on the search conducted by Max Brod and Klaus Wagenbach in the mid-1950s, the Kafka Project at SDSU has an advisory committee of international scholars and researchers, and is calling for volunteers who want to help solve a literary mystery.^[52]

In 2008, academic and Kafka expert James Hawes accused scholars of suppressing details of the pornography Kafka subscribed to (published by the same man who was Kafka's own first publisher) in order to preserve his image as a quasi-saintly "outsider".^[29]

In 2010 a series of boxes containing writings, letters and sketches of the author thought to be lost were opened. Among the writings was a short story by Kafka.^[53]

Translations[link]

There are two primary sources for the translations based on the two German editions. The earliest English translations were by Edwin and Willa Muir and published by Alfred A. Knopf. These editions were widely published and spurred the late-1940s surge in Kafka's popularity in the United States. Later editions (notably the 1954 editions) had the addition of the deleted text translated by Eithne Wilkins and Ernst Kaiser. These are known as "Definitive Editions." They translated both The Trial, Definitive and The Castle, Definitive among other writings. Definitive Editions are generally accepted to have a number of biases and to be dated in interpretation.

After Pasley and Schillemeit completed their recompilation of the German text, the new translations were completed and published – The Castle, Critical by Mark Harman (Schocken Books, 1998), The Trial, Critical by Breon Mitchell (Schocken Books, 1998) and Amerika: The Man Who Disappeared by Michael Hoffman (New Directions Publishing, 2004). These editions are often noted as being based on the restored text.

Published works[link]

Short stories

• "Description of a Struggle" ("Beschreibung eines Kampfes", 1904–1905)
• Contemplation (Betrachtung, 1904–1912)
• "Wedding Preparations in the Country" ("Hochzeitsvorbereitungen auf dem Lande", 1907–1908)
• "The Aeroplanes At Brescia" ("Die Aeroplane in Brescia", September 1909)
• "The Judgment" ("Das Urteil", 22–23 September 1912)
• "The Stoker" ("Der Heizer", 1913)
• "In the Penal Colony" ("In der Strafkolonie", October 1914)
• "The Village Schoolmaster" ("Der Dorfschullehrer" or "Der Riesenmaulwurf", 1914–1915)
• "Blumfeld, an Elderly Bachelor" ("Blumfeld, ein älterer Junggeselle", 1915)
• "The Warden of the Tomb" ("Der Gruftwächter", 1916–1917), the only play Kafka wrote
• "The Hunter Gracchus" ("Der Jäger Gracchus", 1917)
• "The Great Wall of China" ("Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer", 1917)
• "A Report to an Academy" ("Ein Bericht für eine Akademie", 1917)
• "Jackals and Arabs" ("Schakale und Araber", 1917)
• "A Country Doctor" ("Ein Landarzt", 1919)
• "An Old Manuscript" ("Ein altes Blatt", 1919)
• "The Refusal" ("Die Abweisung", 1920)
• "A Hunger Artist" ("Ein Hungerkünstler", 1924)
• "Investigations of a Dog" ("Forschungen eines Hundes", 1922)
• "A Little Woman" ("Eine kleine Frau", 1923)
• "First Sorrow" ("Erstes Leid", 1921–1922)
• "The Burrow" ("Der Bau", 1923–1924)
• "Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk" ("Josephine, die Sängerin, oder Das Volk der Mäuse", 1924)

Many collections of the stories have been published, and they include:

• The Penal Colony: Stories and Short Pieces. New York: Schocken Books, 1948.
• The Complete Stories, (ed. Nahum N. Glatzer). New York: Schocken Books, 1971.
• The Basic Kafka. New York: Pocket Books, 1979.
• The Sons. New York: Schocken Books, 1989.
• The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and Other Stories. New York: Schocken Books, 1995.
• Contemplation. Twisted Spoon Press, 1998.
• Metamorphosis and Other Stories. Penguin Classics, 2007
• Kafka's Greatest Stories. Vook, 2010. (Enhanced with video providing historical background on Kafka's life and influences.)
• Essential Kafka: Rendezvous with Otherness. Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse, 2011.

Novellas

• The Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung, November – December 1915)

Novels

• The Trial (Der Prozeß, 1925) (includes short story "Before the Law")
• The Castle (Das Schloß, 1926)
• Amerika (Amerika or Der Verschollene, 1927)

Diaries and notebooks

• Diaries 1910–1923
• The Blue Octavo Notebooks

Letters

• Letter to His Father
• Letters to Felice
• Letters to Ottla
• Letters to Milena
• Letters to Family, Friends, and Editors

Commemoration[link]

Franz Kafka has a museum dedicated to his work in Prague, Czech Republic.

The term "Kafkaesque" is widely used to describe concepts, situations and ideas which are reminiscent of Kafka's works, particularly The Trial and The Metamorphosis.

The term has been described as "marked by a senseless, disorienting, often menacing complexity: Kafkaesque bureaucracies"^[54] and "marked by surreal distortion and often a sense of impending danger: Kafkaesque fantasies of the impassive interrogation, the false trial, the confiscated passport ... haunt his innocence."^[55] It can also describe an intentional distortion of reality by powerful but anonymous bureaucrats. "Lack of evidence is treated as a pesky inconvenience, to be circumvented by such Kafkaesque means as depositing unproven allegations into sealed files..." Another definition would be an existentialist state of ever-elusive freedom while existing under unmitigable control. The adjective refers to anything suggestive of Kafka, especially his nightmarish style of narration, in which characters lack a clear course of action, the ability to see beyond immediate events, and the possibility of escape. The term's meaning has transcended the literary realm to apply to real-life occurrences and situations that are incomprehensibly complex, bizarre, or illogical.

In Mexico, the phrase "Si Franz Kafka fuera mexicano, sería costumbrista" (If Franz Kafka were Mexican, he would be a Costumbrista writer) is commonly used in newspapers, blogs and online forums to tell how hopeless and absurd the situation in the country is.^[56]

Asteroid 3412 Kafka was named after the author.

The Franz Kafka Prize was established in 2001, to recognize the artwork's "humanistic character and contribution to cultural, national, language and religious tolerance, its existential, timeless character, its generally human validity and its ability to hand over a testimony about our times."^[57]

Literary and cultural references[link]

• Nobel Prize winner Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote a short story called "A Friend of Kafka," which was about a Yiddish actor called Jacques Kohn who said he knew Franz Kafka. In this story, according to Jacques Kohn, Kafka believed in the Golem, a legendary creature from Jewish folklore.^[58] Kafkaesque by Tachyon Publications is an anthology of short stories inspired by the works of Franz Kafka. Kafka Americana by Jonathan Lethem and Carter Scholz is a collection of stories based on Kafka's life and works. Other works inspired by Kafka include Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami, The Kafka Effekt by American bizarro author D. Harlan Wilson, a chapter from Vertigo by W. G. Sebald, and Kafka's Soup by Mark Crick.
• Kafka (1991) Jeremy Irons stars as the eponymous author. Written by Lem Dobbs and directed by Steven Soderbergh, the movie mixes his life and fiction providing a semi-biographical presentation of Kafka's life and works. The story concerns Kafka investigating the disappearance of one of his work colleagues. The plot takes Kafka through many of the writer's own works, most notably The Castle and The Trial.
• Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life is an Oscar-winning short film written and directed by Peter Capaldi and starring Richard E. Grant as Kafka.
• Franz Kafka (1992) at the Internet Movie Database: an animated film by Piotr Dumała
• Alan Bennett, Kafka's Dick, 1986, a play in which the ghosts of Kafka, his father Hermann and Max Brod arrive at the home of an English insurance clerk (and Kafka aficionado) and his wife.
• Milan Richter, Kafka's Hell-Paradise, 2006, a play with 5 characters, using Kafka's aphorisms, dreams and re-telling his relations to his father and to the women. Translated from the Slovak by Ewald Osers.^{[citation needed]}
• Milan Richter, Kafka's Second Life, 2007, a play with 17 characters, starting in Kierling where Kafka is dying and ending in Prague in 1961. Translated from the Slovak by Ewald Osers.^{[citation needed]}
• In the 2001 episode "Director's Cut" of the American animated series Home Movies, Duane composes a rock opera based on Kafka's Metamorphosis, which Brendon films.
• Danish composer Poul Ruders wrote an opera Kafka's Trial based on the novel and parts of Kafka's life. It was first performed in 2005, and has been released on CD. Hungarian composer György Kurtág wrote a piece for soprano and violin, using fragments of Kafka's diary and letters: Kafka-Fragmente, Op. 24, 1985.
• In 2011, BBC Radio 3 produced Kafka the Musical as part of their "Play of the Week" programme. Franz Kafka was played by David Tennant.^[59]

References[link]