German Studies

Includes more than 500 entries on writers, individual works, and topics essential to an understanding of the rich German literary tradition. A substantial contribution to English encyclopedias of German literature, this authoritative two-volume set features in-depth treatment of the authors, works, topics, and influences of German literary studies. Arranged in A-to-Z format, the articles are both definitive and critical.

Part of the Historical dictionaries of literature and the arts (no. 47) series, it covers literary analysis and achievement, from Old High German lays and ecclesiastical encomia to Middle High German epics, sagas, and love lyrics. While extensive in its chronological dimension, the Historical Dictionary of German Literature to 1945 is equally comprehensive in the geographical and genre areas.

German postwar literature has, in the minds of some observers, developed a kind of split personality. The Historical Dictionary of Postwar German Literature is devoted to modern literature produced in the German language, whether from Germany, Austria, Switzerland or writers using German in other countries. This volume covers the period of time, beginning in 1945 at what was called 'zero hour' for German literature and proceeds into the 21st century, concluding in 2008. This is done through a list of acronyms and abbreviations, a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on writers.. There are also entries on individual works, genres, movements, literary styles, and forms.

A reliable source of information on the whole sweep of literature from German-speaking countries from the eighth century onwards. The entries, arranged in a single alphabetical sequence, cover authors and their major works, as well as historical, intellectual, and cultural backgrounds.

More than 50 years of bibliographical information and history of German Language and Literary Studies encompassing approximately 350,000 monographic studies, collected volumes and journals from the areas of literature, theatre studies, media studies, cultural history, and linguistics are made accessible bibliographically.