Richard Steel – författare

Karl Konig, the founder of the Camphill Movement, was very aware of the need for change in the social order he saw around him. In this revealing collection of imaginative thought and ideas, he shows, however, that true social change must begin in individuals.He goes on to say that renewal is something all human beings can practise themselves, in the midst of their everyday life.

As human beings, we have a great longing for community, to feel part of something. Despite this apparent need, the opposite tendency is evident everywhere: a growing individualism leading to the breakdown of relationships, conflict and war. How can we connect meaningfully with our fellow human beings and build successful communities, whilst also cultivating a healthy individuality? Karl König considered that finding answers to these questions was one of the central tasks of anthroposophy, as well as its greatest potential downfall. Seventy years ago, he founded the Camphill Movement as a search for social renewal and healing from new sources.As part of a growing dialogue between people within and outside of Camphill, a conference called Community Building in the Light of Michael took place at the Goetheanum in 2009. The contributions in this book originate from there; contributors include Cornelius Pietzner, Virginia Sease, Penelope Roberts-Baring, Sergei Prokofieff, Peter Selg and Bodo von Plato.

Kaspar Hauser was a young man who appeared on the streets of Nuremberg in Germany in the early nineteenth century. His innocence and mysterious background captured the hearts of many at the time.2012 marks the 200th anniversary of Kaspar Hauser's birth. This timely book draws together Karl König's thoughts on the enigma of Kaspar Hauser, as well as exploring König's deep connection to the young man.The book includes König's essay 'The Story of Kaspar Hauser', as well as essays from Peter Selg on 'König, Wegman and Kaspar Hauser' and Richard Steel on how König spoke of Kaspar Hauser in his diaries, notes and letters.

It is not so often that one encounters an individual creative in almost all they do. In an increasingly mechanized and technical world, the power of creating, especially in the field of social and community life, appears as a healing balm and inspiration to do better. Carlo Pietzner was one such individual.Pietzner was born in 1915, in Vienna, Austria. As a young art student he was introduced to anthroposophy and to Dr Karl König, a Viennese pediatrician, who later founded the international Camphill movement for children and adults in need of special care in Scotland in 1939. Pietzner was a member of the founding group and pioneered the work of Camphill in Northern Ireland, and from 1961 to 1986 further developed the work of Camphill in North America. His artistic activities were far-reaching – in stained glass windows, paintings, essays, novels, plays and several volumes of poetry. He served on the National Council of the Anthroposophical Society of America for many years and was known internationally as a lecturer and consultant. Carlo Pietzner was the founding President of the Camphill Association of North America. He died in April, 1986, in Camphill Village, Copake, New York.While some of Carlo Pietzner’s writings and artistic works have been published before, Living Social Art is the first book to gather the full range of his creative and cultural contributions in one volume. Included are family photographs, reproductions of artwork and stained glass, selected plays and poems, writings for children, and several of his most compelling lectures.This book is a resource for anyone who values the transformative power of art in community life. It speaks to those who knew Carlo, to those touched by the Camphill movement, to seekers within the anthroposophical world, and to readers who simply wish to encounter the unfolding of a singular, artistic and deeply human life.