Luxembourg from an Outside Perspective

“Unfortunately, apart from newspapers, relatively little is read by the general public, so that a high degree of idealism is already required to pursue writing.” This is how Tony Kellen (1869–1948), a Luxembourger living in Germany, describes the current state of literary activity in his homeland in his letter Luxemburger Brief published in the German journal Das literarische Echo on 15 July 1918.

Following this observation, he examines poetic works by Willy Goergen, Jean Henri Wachthausen, Nikolaus Welter and Nikolaus Hein, subjecting them to critical analysis in terms of linguistic quality, recurring themes and motifs. Regarding one particular literary genre, Kellen leaves no room for ambiguity: “Luxembourg is still almost entirely unrepresented in the novel. What has appeared in this field consists either of clumsy amateur attempts or heavily tendentious narratives.” As an example, he cites Fenn Kass by Batty Weber, who, in his view, “undoubtedly has the potential to write a great Luxembourgish novel, but speaks too much as the political party journalist he has been for decades.” From Kellen’s perspective, Weber fails to make proper use of his abilities: “An observer as sharp as Weber and someone so well acquainted with Luxembourgish folk life could find far more rewarding subjects in his homeland.” Kellen’s snapshot concludes with references to Renert, the Bibliothek luxemburger Theaterstücke series (“Those studying language and customs will find rich material here”) and youthful memoirs by Charles Bivort and Jules Keiffer, before the report ends with a look at literary studies on Nikolaus Welter (Die Dichter der luxemburgischen Mundart) and René Engelmann (Victor Hugo à Vianden).

The writer, translator and journalist Tony Kellen lived in Paris after completing his studies and later settled in Germany, where he remained until his death. Throughout this time, he continued to publish regularly about his homeland, primarily in German but also in French and Luxembourgish journals and newspapers. In his later years, however, his openly expressed sympathy for Germany also became a source of criticism. Nonetheless, his discussions of various topics remain insightful, offering an external perspective on Luxembourg and seeking to familiarise foreign readers with the richness of its multilingual literature. In his article La vie littéraire, intellectuelle et artistique au Luxembourg, published in the French Revue politique et littéraire (better known as Revue Bleue) on 1 and 15 February 1930, Kellen attempts to provide readers in France with as comprehensive an overview as possible (covering language, education, literature and art) and to assure them that the small country possesses its own distinct literary identity: “We have every reason to hope that Luxembourg will also secure a place in belles-lettres at least equivalent to that of a German state or a French province.” He also wrote about the National Library. In 1929, he published an article entitled Unsere Landesbibliothek in Cahiers luxembourgeois (Nos. 7 and 8). His contribution Aus der Geschichte des Zeitungswesens im Luxemburger Lande, which appeared in Obermosel-Zeitung on 19 December 1931, was explicitly praised in Jonghémecht on 1 February 1932 with the words: “This is the best history of its kind that we have to date.” In his 1929 publication Mundartliche und hochdeutsche Dichtung in Luxemburg, Nik Welter mentions his compatriot alongside Norbert Jacques as a Luxembourger who successfully established himself abroad: “Tony Kellen enjoys widespread acclaim as a versatile writer.”

Consequently, the foreign periodicals collection at the BnL not only allows readers to stay informed about current and past world events and to consult academic journals from a wide range of fields, but also provides an opportunity to explore Luxembourg’s portrayal in foreign newspapers and magazines.

This article was originally published in German. The English version was translated using AI and reviewed by the author.