Citation

Ryan J. Ger. Life Lett. 2007; 60(3): 348-364.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1468-0483.2007.00392.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The appearance in recent years of several book-length German poems raises important questions. What accounts for this revival of interest in a form that seems an unlikely vehicle for contemporary writers? In what ways do these new long poems relate to the verse epic tradition from classical antiquity to the late nineteenth century? How do they situate themselves with respect to the long, modernist poems of the twentieth century, those of Eliot and Pound? To what extent are they part of a larger international renaissance of the long poem, represented by such works as Derek Walcott's Omeros? This essay approaches these questions by considering long poems from the early twentieth century to the present. Beginning with attempts by Rilke and Benn to respond to their predecessors and contemporaries, the article moves to the postwar revival of the long poem from 1970 to 2006. Poets discussed include Enzensberger, Sebald, Grünbein, Krechel, and Falkner. The essay argues that the long poem allows for a historically informed treatment of war, violence and destruction, themes common to these texts. The reflective modality of the long poem also permits a sophisticated and more critical approach to the ‘nostalgic turn’.