To the Salzburg police authorities,
Salzburg, October 16, 1978
To the pertinent police authorities
Dear Gentlemen:
I, the undersigned,
Hans Maier (yclept: Jean Améry)
Author, resident in 56, Avenue Coghen, Brussels,
Hereby declare that I voluntarily, in full possession of my mental faculties, bring my life to an end. I request the immediate notification (by telephone, if at all possible) of my wife, or in the present case, widow: Maria Maier, née Eschenauer, who is staying in the Hotel Regina, Währingerstrasse, Vienna until the 19th of the present month. It is of the utmost importance to me that this occur without delay, so that my wife may be spared gratuitous formalities from Belgium. I belong to no religious group and would prefer the cremation of my remains over any other sort of burial; should my wife nonetheless demand interment, then her wishes should be respected.
A considerable sum of money (around 4,000 deutschmarks) and a number of Belgian francs have been left to cover the cost of the hotel as well as any necessary expenses accrued by my widow. The funds are in an envelope on my table. My passport is lying beside it.
Decreed by the present party with sincerest thanks, and apologies for the inconveniences he has caused.
Hans Maier
Jean Améry
Honorary Member of the Austrian PEN
(Member of the German PEN
Of the Academy of the Arts, Berlin
Of the German Academy for Language and Poetry, Darmstadt
Winner of the Literature Prize of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts 1972
Of the Lessing Prize of the city of Hamburg 1977
Of the Journalism Prize of the city of Vienna 1977)
I have disclosed these distinctions simply in order that my widow should be treated with due consideration.
Telephone number of the Hotel Regina: Vienna 427681
__
i only live on the surface
i don' think people are very pretty inside
reduce yourself to zero
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-djca3ZJYk
He venido a este lugar porque allá no tenía ninguna clase de vida.
El Lector ha venido a este lugar porque allá no tenía ninguna clase de vida.
El Protagonista ha venido a este lugar porque allá no tenía ninguna clase de vida.
Allá ninguna clase de vida.
¿Qué vida aquí, ahora?