The poet's role: lyric responses to German unification by poets from the GDR

Owen, Ruth J. 2001. The poet's role: lyric responses to German unification by poets from the GDR. Amsterdamer Publikationen zur Sprache und Literatur, vol. 147. Amsterdam: Rodopi.

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Abstract

This study of contemporary German poetry represents the first attempt to examine comprehensively and at some length the lyric response to the unification period. It sets out to investigate, by means of close textual analysis, whether the German ‘Wende’ was also a turning-point for poetry, exploring how GDR poets responded both to the revolutionary events of 1989 and subsequently to the new, united Germany. An introductory chapter considers what is distinct about poetry as a genre, especially under censorship or amid historic change, as well as outlining the post-unification ‘Literaturstreit’. The following chapter offers a survey of the poet’s role in the GDR from 1949 until 1989. Two central chapters then gather the poetry of the ‘Wende’ and unification as a corpus of work and characterize it, through the elucidation of recurring themes, motifs and techniques. The volume strikes a balance between giving a general overview of poetry written in 1989-1996 and focusing on individual poets whose work is particularly compelling. After identifying broad trends across a wide range of individual poems, collections and anthologies, single chapters therefore examine in greater depth the work of Volker Braun and Durs Grünbein. The concluding chapter addresses the issue of a separate GDR literature. Finally, an extensive, structured bibliography is provided, covering the poetry, literary criticism and cultural history of the period.

Item Type:	Book
Book Type:	Authored Book
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Modern Languages
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D839 Post-war History, 1945 on D History General and Old World > DD Germany P Language and Literature > PT Germanic literature
Publisher:	Rodopi
ISBN:	9789042012073
Last Modified:	19 Mar 2018 17:01
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/3573

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