Constructing Authorship in the Work of Gunter Grass (Oxford Modern Languages and Literature Monographs)

this Book Traces A Longstanding Concern With Issues Of Authorship Throughout The Work Of Günter Grass, Germany's Best-known Contemporary Writer And Public Intellectual. Through Detailed Close-readings Of All Of His Major Literary Works From 1970 Onwards And Careful Analysis Of His Political Writings From 1965 To 2005, It Argues That Grass's Tendency To Insert Clearly Recognizable Self-images Into His Literary Texts Represents A Coherent And Calculated Reaction To His Constant Exposure In The Media-led Public Sphere. It Underlines The Degree Of Play Which Has Characterized Grass's Relationship To This Sphere And Himself As Part Of It And Explains How A Concern With The Very Concept Of Authorship Has Conditioned The Way His Work As A Whole Has Developed On Both Thematic And Structural Levels. The Major Achievement Of This Study Is To Develop A New Interpretative Paradigm For Grass's Work. It Explains For The First Time How His Playful Tendency To Manipulate His Own Authorial Image Conditions All Levels Of His Texts And Is Equally Manifest In Literary And Political Realms. "This book traces a longstanding concern with issues of authorship throughout the work of Gunter Grass, Germany's best-known contemporary writer and public intellectual. Through detailed close-readings of all of his major literary works from 1970 onwards and careful analysis of his political writings from 1965 to 2005, it argues that Grass's tendency to insert clearly recognisable self-images into his literary texts represents a coherent and calculated reaction to his constant exposure in the media-led public sphere. It underlines the degree of play which has characterised Grass's relationship to this sphere and himself as part of it and explains how a concern with the very concept of authorship has conditioned the way his work as a whole has developed on both thematic and structural levels. The major achievement of this study is to develop a new interpretative paradigm for Grass's work. It explains for the first time how his playful tendency to manipulate his own authorial image conditions all levels of his texts and is equally manifest in literary and political realms."--Jacket This book traces a longstanding concern with issues of authorship throughout the work of Günter Grass, Germany's best-known contemporary writer and public intellectual. Through detailed close-readings of all of his major literary works from 1970 onwards and careful analysis of his political writings from 1965 to 2005, it argues that Grass's tendency to insert clearly recognisable self-images into his literary texts represents a coherent and calculated reaction to his constant exposure in the media-led public sphere. It underlines the degree of play which has characterised Grass's relationship to this sphere and himself as part of it and explains how a concern with the very concept of authorship has conditioned the way his work as a whole has developed on both thematic and structural levels. The major achievement of this study is to develop a new interpretative paradigm for Grass's work. It explains for the first time how his playful tendency to manipulate his own authorial image conditions all levels of his texts and is equally manifest in literary and political realms. 0199542708......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 List of Figures......Page 7 Note on editions used and frequently cited works......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 1. Models of Authorship: Das Treffen in Telgte in Context......Page 23 2. Public Constructions of Authorship in Grass’s Political Writings, 1965–2005......Page 49 3. ‘Mich [...] in Variationen [...] erzählen’ I: Placing the Author in Aus dem Tagebuch einer Schnecke and Kopfgeburten oder Die Deutschen sterben aus......Page 76 4. ‘Aus der Geschichte gefallen’: Displacing the Author in Der Butt and Die Rättin......Page 107 5. ‘Mich [...] in Variationen [...] erzählen’ II: Reconstructing the Author in Zunge zeigen and Mein Jahrhundert......Page 133 6. ‘Er, in dessen Namen ich krebsend vorankam’: Reading the Author in Ein weites Feld and Im Krebsgang......Page 160 Conclusion......Page 187 Select Bibliography......Page 192 C......Page 204 H......Page 205 M......Page 206 R......Page 207 Z......Page 208 This book traces a longstanding concern with issues of authorship throughout the work of G--uuml--;nter Grass, Germany's best-known contemporary writer and public intellectual. Through detailed close-readings of all of his major literary works from 1970 onwards and careful analysis of his political writings from 1965 to 2005, it argues that Grass's tendency to insert clearly recognisable self-images into his literary texts represents a coherent and calculated reaction to his constantexposure in the media-led public sphere. It underlines the degree of play which has characterised Grass's relati A challenging new reading of Grass's literary work and political writings that examines how the author has reacted to sustained public interest in his person from the mid-1960s onwards. Braun draws together an eclectic body of literary writing and suggests that questions of authorship lie at the heart of Grass's work