German Literature In A New Century: Trends, Traditions, Transitions, Transformations

Engendered at a 2005 Fulbright summer seminar, these 15 essays describe new directions in literature in Berlin, Leipzig and Homburg. The contributors focus primarily on the literary public sphere as they examine the standard role of the German public intellectual, traditional memory and narrative, the degree to which history applies to contemporary German narratives (including accounts of the Allied bombings of German cities in World War II), transitions in form and performance since 1989, the aesthetics of memory for third-generation Germans, the role of authors from former German Democratic Republic in the creation and presentation of poetry, the marketing of literature to German women, the relationship between social alienation and gender, and examples of young literati who also serve as public intellectuals. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Katharina Gerstenberger is Professor of German and Head of German Studies at the University of Cincinnati. She earned her PhD from Cornell University in 1993. She is the author of Truth to Tell: German Women’s Autobiographies and Turn-of-the-Century Culture (2000). She also publishes on contemporary literature and identity.