Wednesday, Aug 6, 2008    Text size: 

Kafka (1883-1924) was the author of such classics as the short story "The Metamorphosis" (1915), and novels that included "The Trial" (1925) and "The Castle" (1926).

Hawes is the author of Excavating Kafka, being published this month, a book that explores the literary myths and cult-like beliefs that surround the idolized writer, and will include some of the sexual material. Hawes hypothesizes that the material has not previously been written about by scholars in order to protect his image as a "quasi-saintly" literary icon.

The Oxford graduate argues that Kafta deserves better from literary historians and biographers, that his image will not be harmed by the revelation, and that a proper assessment of his place in history demands a transparent look at the entirety of his work.

Nonetheless, he cautions that the writings in question are not for the sexually squeamish.

"These are not naughty postcards from the beach," Hawes said. "They are undoubtedly porn, pure and simple. Some of it is quite dark, with animals committing fellatio and girl-on-girl action... It's quite unpleasant."

Kafka reportedly kept the journals, titled The Amethyst/Opals, bound and locked in a cabinet in his parent's house where he lived, and took the key with him whenever he left.

"The many myths about Kafka circulating among the semi-informed public... do include the idea of Kafka as a kind of saint, originally propagated by his friend Max Brod. So it's salutary to assemble evidence that he was human," Ritchie Robertson, a professor of German at Oxford University and author of Kafka: A Very Short Introduction, said.