W. G. Sebald
Proposals are invited for contributions to a volume of essays on W. G.
Sebald.
Sebald's importance as a writer is widely recognized, and the critical
acclaim and public success that his works now enjoy go way beyond the
German-speaking world. Highly accomplished translations of his work have
established him as a major figure on the literary scene in Great Britian
and North America. In particular, his subtle and sophisticated
explorations of the European past, family history, and memory mean that his
works have become central to the current critical debate about historical
trauma, transgenerational transmission, and the links between narrative and
memory. In addition, he is one of only a few writers to exploit the
potential of photographs in the reconstruction of individual and collective
histories, most of his books combining narrative and photographic images in
an idiosyncratic way, and lending themselves to an interdisciplinary
critical approach.
The planned volume will represent both a major contribution to the
fledgling debate on one of the finest European writers of recent times, and
incorporate a variety of approaches that reflect the wider concerns of
contemporary literary study. As a timely re-evaluation of Sebald's oeuvre,
it will stand as a fitting tribute to a writer whose tragic death robbed
contemporary literature of one of its most impressive and distinctive
voices.
Possible topics include:
History and Trauma
Intergenerational memory
The role of photography
Narrative form and leitmotifs
Language and style
Links between critical and creative works
Geographical/cultural displacement
National identity versus homelessness
The role of melancholy
Travel
Sebald the poet
Sebald's English-language writings
Please e-mail abstracts of c. 200 words to both the editors by 1 July 2002
Dr Jonathan Long
j.j.long@durham.ac.uk
Department of German
University of Durham
Elvet Riverside
New Elvet
Durham. DH1 3JT. UK
Dr Anne Whitehead
Anne.Whitehead@newcastle.ac.uk
Department of English Literary and Linguistic Studies
University of Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne. NE1 7RU. UK
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