In the summer of 1963, president John F. Kennedy travelled to Berlin and triumphantly proclaimed "Ich bin ein Berliner!”. Decades later, an urban rumor developed around a possible mispronunciation of the phrase by J.F.K that changed its meaning from ‘I am a Berliner’ into ‘I am a jelly doughnut’. This was explained by the fact that, outside of Berlin, a particular pastry was known as a Pfannkuchen or Berliner Ballen.
“Words were originally magic, and the word retains much of its old magical power even to-day. With words one man can make another blessed, or drive him to despair; by words the teacher transfers his knowledge to the pupil; by words the speaker sweeps his audience with him and determines its judgments and decisions. Words call forth effects and are the universal means of influencing human beings.”
On occasions I have dreams that reference the time I lived in Berlin. These narratives are mechanical, little stories assembled like LEGO blocks. But the atmosphere is always dense, like the winter waters of a forest lake. I dream about Berghain and the KitKatClub empty of furniture but filled with wandering insects and unrecognizable animals. I remember buying leftover vegetable boxes at the later hours of the Turkish Markets. I dream of buying supplements at natural remedy pharmacies and paying with bags of sand that make a flopping sound when exchanged. I remember visiting many abandoned buildings and fairs, statues of bronze walruses and the steam radiating from pools at the public bath houses. I have dreams of speaking a mixture of five different languages at government offices and finding out my tongue is made of jellyfish.
Kennedy wrote his iconic phrase using English orthography to approximate the German pronunciation "ish bin ein Bearleener”.
In my dreams I am a bear, a jelly doughnut, a window reclaimed by nature, the murmur of a forrest. In my dreams I am dressed in a furry animal costume.
"Lasst sie nach Berlin kommen" (let them come to berlin).
