Background
Lichtenstein grew up in Berlin as the son of a manufacturer.
Lichtenstein grew up in Berlin as the son of a manufacturer.
He studied law in Erlangen.
Indeed, there were calims of imitation: while Hoddis created the style, Lichtenstein has enlarged it, it was said. However he was not to grow old get old: in 1914 he fell at the front in World War I.
The only solace: be sad! If sadness becomes despair: be grotesque! Be a clown, trying to find one"s amusement by recognizing that existence consists of sheer brutal and shabby strokes.
Lichtenstein played a little around with this reputation by writing a short story, called "The Winner", which describes in a scurillous way the random friendship of two young man, wherein one falls victim to the other. By using false names he often made fun of real people from the Berlin literary scene, including himself as Kuno Kohn, a silent shy boy. In "The winner" a virile van Hoddis kills Kuno Kohn at the end of the story.
