W. G. Sebald in Context

A bright window onto the life, works and legacy of one of the most influential writers of late twentieth-century literature.

Uwe Schütte (Edited by)

9781316511350, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 September 2023

346 pages
28 x 19 x 2.5 cm, 0.723 kg

'A terrific book which manages to return Sebald-studies back to a Sebaldian place where grand historical sweeps and the merest marginalia illuminate each other to new effect. Overall, it refreshes both our sense of Sebald as an academic and literary subversive and of the astonishing breadth of themes addressed in and provoked by his work - in film, in pop music, in relation to the Anthropocene, in the cult of The Sebaldian to name a few - and it does so while remaining accessible.' Grant Gee, director of Patience: After Sebald (2011)

The German academic and writer W. G. Sebald made an astounding ascent into the canon of world literature. In this volume, leading experts from both the English- and the German-speaking worlds explore his celebrated prose works published in the short span from 1996 to his premature death in 2001. Special attention is paid to Sebald's unpublished texts and books awaiting translation into English. The volume – illustrated with many unpublished archive images – scrutinizes the dual nature of Sebald's life and work, located between Germany and England, academic and literary writing, vilification and idolization. Through nearly forty essays on a broad range of topics, W. G. Sebald in Context achieves a revision of our understanding of Sebald, defying many clichés about him. Particular attention is paid to the manifold ways in which Sebald's writings exerted a legacy far beyond literature, especially in the areas of art, cinema, and popular music.

Part I. Biograpical Aspects: 1. Allgäu Kai Wolfinger
2. Sebald's grandfather Christoph Steker
3. Manchester Catharine Annabel
4. East Anglia Jo Catling
5. Academia Florian Radvan
6. The British centre for literary translation Duncan Large
7. Between Germany and Britain Rüdiger Görner
Part II. The Literary Works: 8. Unpublished Juvenilia Melissa Etzler
9. Film scripts Michael Hutchins
10. The 'Prose project'Paul Whitehead
11. Auto-/biography Christoph Singer
12. Natural history and the anthropocene Bernhard Malkmus
13. The corsica project Lisa Kunze
14. Poetry Iain Galbraith
15. The world war project Richard Hibbitt
16. Interviews Torsten Hoffmann
Part III. Themes and Influences: 17. Critical writings Sven Meyer
18. Minor writing Uwe Schütte
19. Franz kafka Ritchie Robertson
20. Literary predecessors Ben Hutchinson
21. Walter benjamin Luisa Banki
22. Philosophical models and influences Paul Thompson
23. History Lynn L. Wolff
24. Polemics Uwe Schütte
25. Holocaust Jakob Hessing
26. Photography Nick Warr
27. Paintings and ekphrasis Leonida Kova?
28. Media theory Florian Leitner
29. Travel writing David Anderson
30. Eco-criticism and animal studies Lisa Kunze
Part IV. Reception and Legacy: 31. Sebald scholarship Lynn L. Wolff
32. Sebald in translation Martin Schauss
33. The 'Sebaldian' Adrian Nathan West
34. Film Andrew J. Webber
35. Pop music Hendrik Otremba
36. Literary prizes Uwe Schütte
37. Visual arts and exhibitions Terry Pitts
38. The cult of Sebald Ian Ellison.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: general [DSB]