GDR Bulletin
Volume 6 Issue 1 Winter Article 3
1980
Journal Notes various authors
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JOURNAL NOTES presented are Paul Wiens, Volker Braun, Uwe Putsche Bücher, Bd. DC (1979) Nr.2 Berger and Hans Brinkmann. Hanna Cibulka follows his poetry selection with "Notizen 'his issue features interviews with two GDR über das Schreiben" in which he discusses a /riters presently living in the West: Hans poet's feelings and intuition, and wonders Ister's "Gespräch mit Thomas Brasch", pp. 85- "...woher die Gedanken kommen, die man nieder• schreibt..." Helmut Preissler contributes )8, and "Gespräch mit Sarah Kirsch", conducted on essay entitled "Derlei hörte ich gern" )y Ester and Dick von Stekelenburg, pp. 100- about some of Brecht's poetry. Ursula Heuken- !13. kamp discusses the change of landscapes in Zentral to the interview with Brasch, in GDR poetry in her essay "Nichts bleibt natür• addition to his remarks on cultural politics in lich..." She concludes that poems about nature Hie GDR, are extended comments on Rotter, in have changed their character, that nature no <;hich he develops analogies to Georg Büchner's longer represents the self-evident environment 'Joyzeck. of man or the mirror of man's-hopes, but The interview with Kirsch likewise focuses on nature itself has become problematic. "Mit ler relationship to the cultural-political der Erfahrung, daß die Landschaft im sozialen scene in the GDR and her move to the West. Of Leben eine bestimmte, auf wirkliche Bedürfnisse particular interest are her comparison of the treffende Funktion hat, sieht sich Natur 3DR to " ein strenges Elternhaus, das man gern anders an." iiat, aber..." and her enthusiasm for Maxie wander's Guten Morgen, du Schöne: "besser als The omy prose selection in the August issue 3as, was ich einige Jahre früher gemacht habe." is a story by Joachim Nowotny called "Weiber- Che interview concludes with some insights use• wirtschaft." Continued from the July issue is ful on her poetic method. the section "Stimmen aus der CSSR" which thio Both interviews include bibliographies of the time presents poetry selections by 12 Czech authors' published works. and Slovak poets. Concluding the issue is a lengthy "Neue Werke" Patricia Herminghouse section, a two-page list of new publications, Washington University and a speech by Rainer Kerndl, "Die Verwirk• St. Louis lichung menschlicher Ideale", which was de• livered at a conference of authors from 20 countries of Europe and America. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the responsi• Deutsche Literatur, Vol. XXVII, Nr. 7-9. bility of the author for the freedom and fu• ^eue ture of the coming generation. L'he July 1979 issue of NDL begins with a novel The September issue deals with Erich Weinert oy Armin Müller entitled Der Magdalenenbaum. and begins with his translation and commentary Prose selections by Egon Richter and Kurt David of Eugene Pottier's poem "Denn die Commune are followed by the poetry of Manfred Streubel, war schon da." The next several pages are de• Jlrich Grasnik, Klaus Körner and others. voted to some of Erich Weinerts :orrespondence H inz Entner discusses some of the new works with Arnold Zweig. in the field of fantpstic literature in a A talk with Sergej Tulpanow, who was the di• section entitled "Gut gemeint — gut gemacht?" rector of the division of information of the Entner is not impressed with most of the Soviet military administration in Germany works, but applauds the attempt to pose un• after the war, is entitled "Zeit des Neube• conventional questions. ginns." The article is about his duties "Stimmen aus der <5SSR" presents five manu• (which books to publish, etc.) in the cultur• scripts from Czech and Slovakian younger gen• al realm. Included are some documents and eration prose authors. Reviews of several photos from the period. works, including Christa Wolf's Kein Ort- This issue also includes poetry by Walter Nirgends, can be found in the "Neue Werke" Werner, Helmut Preissler, Wulf Kirsten, and section of the July issue. Reiner Putzger. Harald Dorall writes on the Th* August issue of NDL is entitled Poetische life and work of Eberhard Panitz. Realität and contains either poetry selections or essays on poetry. Some of the poets re•
Published by New Prairie Press, 1980 1 GDR Bulletin,- 4 Vol.- 6 [1980], Iss. 1, Art. 3
^rose selections include an excerpt from a forthcoming novel by Joochen Laabs entitled Two other GDR authors are interviewed in recenl Der Ausbruch (sequel to his 1971 novel Das West German journals: Karl-Heinz Jakobs, whose Grashaus) about the dissolution of a marriage, novel Wilhelmsburx was published by Claassen and Rolf Floss' "Mit Brüderchen Merkel auf in 1979, in die horen (summer 19?9) and Jürgen Montage" from a forthcoming book, Tanzstunden Fuchs, whose collection of poetry TaKesnotizen Mines jungen Mannes. Following this selection appeared in Rowohlt's series das neue buch, is p conversation with Laabs about his book, in Spuren, a socialist journal published in especially the characters, and about literature Cologne (October 1979). Spuren devotes much in general. of this number to the theme "Der gespaltene In the "Neue Werke" section, Jürgen Engler re• Horizont - Kulturzustände in der DDR" and in• views several recent works of criticism of cludes articles on architecture by Gabriele GDR literature, and in the "Umschau" section Schubert, on painting by Sieghard Pohl and G.E. Brjanski discusses GDR literature in on Christa Wolf by Barbara Hahm. Russian literary journals and magazines. Taken together the three interviews given by There are a number of letters to Erik Neutsch writers belonging to three different genera• on his work "Zwei leere Stühle" which was pub• tions provide a fascinating spectrum of lished in the May 1979 issue of NDL. opinion in the GDR; Hsrmlin, the oldest of the three, viewing the Judith H. Cox country against the background of hie experienc< Arlington, Texas as a communist since the Thirties, concerned at the lack of democratic tradition and tolerance in Germany and critical of those who seek to avoid the awkward questions of youn L76 Demokratie und Sozialismus, Köln people, but nonetheless committed to the GDR: "Wo sind wir zuhause? Gespräch mit Stephan "Ich h^be natürlich ein bestimmtes Heimatge• Hermlin", Freibeuter, 1 (1979), Berlin/West. fühl in der DDR, einfach deshalb, sie mag nun Karl-Heinz Jakobs: "Ich kann die Lernfähigkeit sein wie sie will, weil sie die erste staatliche Verkörperung der deutschen Arbeiter• des Systems heute nicht mehr erkennen", bewegung ist...". r'ie hören, 2(1979), S.133-141. Jakobs, expelled from the SED and the Schrift- "Ich versuche, lebendig zu leben. Gespräch mit ctellerverband and consequently without a Jürgen Fuchs", Spuren, 5 (1979), S.19-21. publisher in the GDR, sceptical of the relevance of socialist rea]ism, a term he is In reviewing recent West German journals two no longer able to define, and unwilling to major developments are to be recorded. accept that the system can be reformed ( the interview is entitled: "Ich kann die Lern• L76, its circulation down to 3200 and deprived fähigkeit des Systems heute nicht mehr er• of a publisher since the Europäische Verlags- kennen"), describing his "Parteilichkeit" in Anstalt was sold off by the Deutscher Gewerk• terms of a committment to the people rather schaftsbund, faces a serious crisis now that than to the system of the GDR! Hoffmann und Campe have declined to take it And Fuchs, representative of a 'ounger c"er. In consequence Number 13, which was generation, who lack the experience of Hermlin, scheduled by Carl Grützmacher on "Die Dar• measuring the system against the writings of stellung der Frau im DDR-Roman", has not yet Karl Marx and Rosa Luxemburg and finding it appeared. wanting, now living in West Berlin after his L76, Nothing daunted by the uncertain fate of release from prison but resisting the term Klaus Wagenbach launched his Freibeuter, a new "dissident":" Ich bin Staatsfeind, Inter• cultural and political quarterly, in an edition nationalist - undeutsch, wenn es ums Stramm• 1979 of 21C00 copies in time for the Frankfurt stehen geht." Book Fair. In line with the policy of the Wagenbach Verlag,the journal is to include con• Geoffrey V. Davis tributions by GDR authors. Represented in the University of Aachen first issue are Franz Fühmann, "Der Haufen. Satire auf der S^tz Sorites", and Stephan Hermlin, "Wo sind wir zuhause?", an interview with Klaus Wagenbach on the occasion of the publicatiohttps://newprairiepress.org/gdr/vol6/iss1/3n of Hermlin's Abendlicht. DOI: 10.4148/gdrb.v6i1.485 2 authors: Journal Notes - ^ -
Sinn und Form. Beiträge zur Literatur, Weimarer Beiträge, Vol, XXV, Nr. 9 *nd Nr. 10 published six times a year by the Deutsche Recent issues of Weimarer Beiträge include Akademie der Künste (Berlin/Ost). Nos. 2-4 several articles of interest to scholars in (1979) the United States. In the August issue three essays discuss problems of literary reception: Heinz Plavius begins his interview with the Dietrich Sommer's short piece on the psycholo• Soviet writer, Fjodor Abramow by posing a gy of reading, Hans-Georg Werner's treatment question about the relationship between history of reception and literary history and Gotthard and the present. Abramow's somewhat less than Lerchner's discussion of the relationship to surprising answer that, " ... um die Gegenwart other critical approaches (including semiotics). zu verstehen und sich des Seins bewusst zu In addition the essay by Isolde Dietrich and werden, in dem wir leben — muß man die Ver• Dietrich Mühlberg on the cultural history of gangenheit kennen.(4$5)", could easily be the workers' movement corresponds to a grow• taken as the leitmotif for the entire issue. ing interest in social phenomena which are It is certainly a thought which runs through not reduced to simple reflections of either most of the contributions presented and is, in political or economic structures, i.e. not fact, the idea which ties all them together Kulturpolitik but culture as the sum of pop• into a cohesive whole. ular culture and everyday life. This latter The issue is, in short, a nostalgic retro• aspect reappears in Anneliese Neefs report spective, bringing into focus the role of on the social-democrats and the woman's ques• socialist authors in an ever-changing world. tion, a straight-forward pro-Bebel account The opening selection sets the tone and gives spiced up with a polemic against West German direction to the rest of the issue; it is a radical feminists' emphasizing sex more than congratulatory letter from First Party class. Horst Groschopp's review of the re• Secretary, Erich Honecker, to the editor of print of Otto Rühle's cultural history of the Sinn und Form, Wilhelm Girnus, on the occasion proletariat also contributes to discussion of of the journal's — and the country's — 30th a broad concept of culture and the social sig• anniversary. Honecker's letter briefly reviews nificance of subjectivity. The piece is in• the often troubled times in which both the teresting particularly because of Ruble's republic and the journal grew up. anti-bolshevist communism. ^ The letter-form itself gives the issue an in• The September issue includes an enquete on formal tone, which is maintained throughout literature and art in the GDR with a variety by the remaining contributions, many of which of reminiscences. Klaus Kandier's review of are themselves letters. the anthology Literaturkritik der DDR 19^5- There is, for example, an open letter from Anns 1975 (cd. Klaus Jarmatz, Christel Berger, Seghers to Christa Wolf on the occasion of Renate Drenkow) is noteworthy, since he re• Wolf's 50th birthday; in it, Seghers appraises the whole development of GDR expresses her feelings about Wolf's Kindheits• literature. He rejects monolinear simplifi• muster and,in particular, the significance cations, emphasizing instead the central his• that this novel had for the writers of her torical ruptures from the standpoint of the generation. She then goes on to recall thoughts current antagonism between GDR critics and she had had on the publication f Wolf's authors. His reviewing literary criticism per• earlier works, Der geteilte Hit el and Nach• mits him to characterize, albeit vaguely, con• denken über Christa T.. Seghers ends her temporary developments. For example, the re• letter with an allusion to Wolf's most recent turn to catharsis in the so-called subjective work, Kein Ort,Nirgends, and the similarity literature of the seventies is related to a it shares with an earlier work of her own. theoretical distancing from Brecht's aesthetics. There are letters from Alfred Kurella to his wife, written between 1941-19^3, in which Kurella's hopes and fears, his joys and dis- Russell A. Berman appointements are evident. They are selections Stanford University from a soon-to-be-released edition of his war letters and are published the first time in this issue of Sinn und Form, ********
Published by New Prairie Press, 1980 3 GDR Bulletin,- 6 Vol. - 6 [1980], Iss. 1, Art. 3
Parallelling Kurella's letters are those of Cn May 7 of this year the Academy of Arts Louis Fürnberg to Stephan Hermlin, Johannes R. met in Berlin to discuss the topic, "Kunst Becher, Christa Wolf, and Ludwig Renn among im Kampf gegen den Faschismus'.'. The fourth others; they too are from a future edition of issue of Sinn und Form presents a number of his letters to be published by the Aufbau Ver• selections dealing with this periodically re• lag. curring theme in GDR literature. Also in this issue are prose selections by the Cther significant contributions include an Polish author, Henryk Worcell and by the West exchange of letters between Günter Kunert and Berlin writer Edgar Hilsenrath, poems by Jürgen the editor, Wilhelm Girnus, debating Kunert's Rennert, an essay by Robert Weimann, which ex• outspoken concern for environmental dangers amines from an historical perspective the resulting from an unchecked use of science and relationship between art and its public in a technology and from an over-zealous belief socialist system, some personal thoughts on in "prepress". Russian literature by Peter Biele, and Hartmut The serialization of Hartmut Zenker's novel, Zenker's "Unterwegs mit G." which picks up the Unterwegs mut G.. begun in the second number leitmotif of the issue in its opening sentence: of the journal, is continued here. "Bin ich doch nur ein Vorfahre von künftigen There is an open letter from leading GDR anderen, im Leben wie auf der Reise...(308)". social scientist Jürgen Kuczynski to Günter The story will be continued in forthcoming de Bruyn regarding his recently-published _ issues of the journal. Märkische Forschungen. In his letter, Kuczynsl Finally the issue contains a literary triptych expresses a fondness for the book, mitigated of sorts, made up of a dramatic dialogue by the only by what he considers an ending unfair to Greek writer Jannis Ritsos, a reflective prose the hero. piece by Günter Kunert about Ritsos, and some Following this letter, there is a more foilow-up correspondence between Kunert and objective critique of the de Bruyn work by the editors of Sinn und Form regarding this Karin Hirdina, who very articulately discusses work, entitled ^ntäus. what is, without a doubt, the dominant stylistic device in the story: irony. Finally, The third issue of 1979 opens with two poems by Friedrich Dieckmann reviews one of the most Persian poets, whose revolutionary message is popular books to appear in the past two years: unmistakable. Through the publication of such Silvester mit Balzac by Wolfgang Kohlhaase. verses as, "Dies alles schrieb ich hier so grob, so tief ergrimmt,/ damit der Schah sich's Thomas Di Kapoli doch vielleicht zu Herzen nimmt (494)", the Louisiana State University editors have clearly voiced their solidarity at Baton Rouge with the recent turn-of-events in that troubled land. The most prominent authors included are Ulrich Plenzdorf, Günter Kunert and Rainer Kirsch. If Plen^dorf's excerpt from his novel, Legende FSMCänB CONFERENCES vom Glück ohne Ende, is ^ny indication, then ^his latest work of his promises to be as exciting as his "Werther". Kunert is CALL FOR PAPERS AT THF IULA represented by a lauditory essay about another of the issue's contributors, the 33-year- old writer, Hans Löffler, whom Kunert The Midwest MLA is soliciting papers for its compares to Robert Walser, Kafka^und Kleist! 1980 meeting. The theme is Post-War Literary It's a great deal of praise for a young author, Trends in the German Speech Area. Finished whose only publication to date, Gedichte und papers should be mailed by April 15, 1980 to: Geschichten, has just appeared. Kirsch is Marian Musgrave directly responsible for three of the issue's Professor of English and selections: his translation of poems by the Director of Black World Studies Soviet poet, Sergej Jessenin, a caustic essay 121-C Uphan Hall by Eugen Ruge, taking Kirsch to task for what Miami University he considers loose, even feeble, approximations Oxford, Ohio 4$056 of the original, and Kirsch's unequivocal response.
https://newprairiepress.org/gdr/vol6/iss1/3 DOI: 10.4148/gdrb.v6i1.485 4