TY - BOOK AU - Owen,Ruth J. TI - The Poet's Role: Lyric Responses to German Unification by Poets from the GDR T2 - Brill Book Archive Part 1, ISBN: 9789004472495 SN - 9789004485792 AV - PT553 U1 - 831.91409358 23 PY - 2001/// CY - Leiden; , Boston PB - BRILL KW - German poetry KW - 20th century KW - History and criticism KW - Germany (East) KW - Poets, German N1 - Includes bibliographical references and index; Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations -- 1: Introduction -- 2: The Poet's Role in the GDR 1949-1989 -- 3: History and Poetry: 'Wende-Zeitgedichte' -- 4: 'Die Stimmen der Verlierer': Post-Unification Poetry by ex-GDR Poets -- 5: The End of a Role: Volker Braun's Post-'Wende' Poetry -- 6: The Beginning of a Role: Durs Grünbein's Post-'Wende' Poetry -- 7: Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index of Names -- Index of Subjects N2 - 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 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004485792 ER -