History of Goethetc.

I have noted in recent days that the number of visits to this site has been moving toward 200,000. Overnight, it has overtaken that mark.

I began blogging in August 2008, not quite sure what I wanted to do. Initially I had the idea of a website, on which I would upload my own work on Goethe, but Carole, with a few keystrokes, created the blog template. "Goethe" was already taken as a blog name, and Rick suggested "Goethetc." Etcetera has truly been the case. Indeed, within days of starting the blog, I went off to Vienna for a visit. It seemed natural to post photos of my trip on my return. Thus, although I have posted mostly on Goethe, but not necessarily in my own area of interest (world literature), it has included lots of subjects that interest me personally. "Goethe," however, covers a wide swath, as noted by recent posts on Carl Friedrich Zeiss.

The image at the top of today's post comes from an Argentinian site dedicated to comparative literature. It appeared at the top of my third post, back in 2008. I can't really read Spanish, but I looked at the link today and notice that the article contains quite a bibliography–– certainly of interest for Spanish scholars of the subject. It lists, for instance, a thesis from 2000 by Waltraud Kirste: Weltliteratur de Goethe, un concepto intercultural. (Tesis doctoral bajo la dirección del Dr. José María Santamaría. Universidad del País Vasco - Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea.) And, of course, Eckermann's Conversaciones con Goethe. The article on Goethe is by Damián Leandro Sarro, who appears to be at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario.

Since 2008 I have fielded many requests concerning Goethe from all over the world, including from high school students and retired folks. Onward and upward to 500,000.