1912: Against doctor's orders, Karl May accepts an invitation to speak before the academy for literature and music in Vienna. On March the 20th, he arrives in Vienna, and in an interview with a newspaper reporter, he says: "What I have created up to now, I regard as preliminary studies, as études. I have, in a manner of speaking, tested my audience. Only now, I want to approach the actual work of my life." On March the 22th, he speaks before an enthusiastic audience of about 2000 people. On March the 30th, back at home in Radebeul, he dies. About my translation: This translation is based on the first edition of 1910. That one footnote from the original text is marked with a [1]. Here and there, I have added some footnotes, to explain things which do not translate so well into English or some readers might not be familiar with. These additional footnotes are marked with [a], [b] etc. I admit that there are still a few more expressions which might require an explanation, but I could not fully resolve myself. Names of places and titles of books are often left untranslated, but when they carry a translatable meaning I have added this in angle brackets. ------------------------------------------------------------------ My Life and My Efforts Autobiography by Karl May Volume I Original title: Mein Leben und Streben, Selbstbiographie von Karl May, Band I [Translated by Gunther Olesch in 2000] The day this world will cast you from its sight, Go calmly forth from here and don't lament. By means like this, it freed you from your plight, And as it did you wrong, it will repent. (Karl May "Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen" [a]) [a] A slightly different version of this poem can be found in "Im Reiche des silbernen Löwen IV" <In the Empire of the Silver Lion, Volume 4> a.k.a. "Das versteinerte Gebet" <The Petrified Prayer>. There, the last line would translate literally as "and therefore it has to bear all of your guilt", whereas here a more literal translation would be "and it now has to bear its guilt (from its offence) against you by itself". Contents I. The Fable of Sitara II. My Childhood III. No Boyhood IV. My Time at the Seminary and as a Teacher V. In the Abyss VI. Working for the Colportage VII. My Literary Work VIII. My Lawsuits IX. Conclusion I. The Fable of Sitara If someone should go in a straight line from the earth to the sun within three months and proceed beyond the sun for another three months into the same direction, he would reach a star named Sitara. Sitara is a Persarabian word, meaning nothing more than "star".