Poetry Project: Irish Germanists Interpret German Verse by Florian Krobb , Jeff Morrison (review)

Abstract

ii 14 Reviews of officialdocuments. A detailed reading of subtexts in Semprun's works is followed by an insightful interpretation of Weiss's Der Schatten des Korpers des Kutschers as an early example of an aesthetic of submerged remembering and indirection. The inclusion of both non-German-language writers and marginalized figuressuch as Backer, Achternbusch, and even Walter Kempowski, who have not received the detailed attention they deserve, is extremely laudable. However, Dunker's theoretical exposition is not always as sharp as one might wish: for instance, in the introduction he follows all too readily Hayden White's assertion that the formal characteristics of high modernism offerthe only prospect of an adequate representation of the Holo? caust (p. 18). In his summary Dunker then claims that the metonymic discourse and symptomatic narratives that are the focal point of his study should be understood as examples of postmodern writing and as a result of the moral turn of postmodernity (p. 293). Surely a brief reflection on the categories of modernism/postmodernism in the context of the historicizing of the Holocaust would have been warranted at some p>6int.Nevertheless, with its emphasis on detailed readings and literary contextualization Dunker's book makes a much-needed German contribution to the ongoing debate about 'writing on how to write about Auschwitz'. University College Dublin Anne Fuchs Poetry Project: Irish GermanistsInterpret German Verse. Ed. by Florian Krobb and Jeff Morrison. (British and Irish Studies in German Language and Literature, 25) Oxford, Bern, and Berlin: Peter Lang. 2003. 276 pp. ?29. ISBN 3-90676645 -4. These forty interpretations of German poetry from Andreas Gryphius to Durs Griinbein reflectthe growing involvement of the authors with poems of their choice. As the introduction explains, many ofthe poems were written in reaction to situations of social or historical crisis. Timeless themes are included, and a few experiments ap? pear among several traditional forms. The editors hope to encourage more reading of poetry, and this aim is greatly enhanced by the inclusion of the texts followed by prose translations. Eoin Bourke contributes seven items, Joachim Fischer, Florian Krobb, Beate Dreike, Sabine Egger, and Gert Reifarth two each, all other authors each a single interpretation of about six pages. The overall quality is high, sometimes exceptional, and always interesting. The poems are seen in context, and the contribu? tors provide just enough technical analysis to show the uniqueness of each example. From the fifteeninterpretations of pre-twentieth-century poems the reader gains insights into the effectsofthe Thirty Years War (Gryphius), peasant faith(Claudius), the interplay of nature and the individual (Klopstock) and of nature and art (Goethe), and a vision of the loss of self despite a serene natural background (Holderlin). Two interpreters give Goethe's 'Gingo Biloba' informative and personal treatment. Chamisso's 'Der Invalid im Irrenhaus' is revealed as a complex and ambiguous ex? pression of outrage, the historical reception of Hoffmann von Fallersleben's 'Lied der Deutschen' is traced, and Droste-Hulshoff's 'Am Turme' presented as an expression of the author's painful conflict between passive acceptance of her role and her urge for independent action, while in her 'Der Knabe im Moor' psychological sufferingis foregrounded. Weerth's 'Deutscher und Ire' represents early Marxism pointing an accusatory fingerat Britain forsocial conditions in Ireland and Germany. The incendiary quality of Heine's depiction of revolution and his 'Jammertal' are revealed in their bleakness and use of stylistic disruption. Kempner's 'Drei Schlagworte' merits inclusion for its historical documentation of a woman's struggle in the nineteenth century. In contrast, Fontane's dramatic 'Die Brucke am Tay' is shown still to be unsettling and relevant today. MLRy 99.4, 2004 1115 An original reading of Rilke's 'Der Pan ther' as a text constructed over what it does not say is one of the highlights in the book. More detail on the potentials of the rhythmic patterns, especially when the poem is read aloud, could have given further sup? port. Lasker-Schuler's 'Mein Volk' and Stefan George's 'Der Widerchrist' provide an effectivecontrast in message and style, with texts and interpretations equally compelling . The varied moods and styles of Expressionism are seen in Van Hoddis's 'Weltende...