Stevens in Leseland, the East German “Land of Readers”

Akansu E (2024)


Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2024

Journal

Book Volume: 48

Pages Range: 142-153

Article Number: 945704

Journal Issue: 2

DOI: 10.1353/wsj.2024.a945704

Abstract

It remains to be seen whether the GDR as a Leseland was more a wish of cultural policy than a reality, but it did produce some remarkable editorial achievements. These include the Weiße Reihe of twentieth-century poetry from around the world. The fact that Wallace Stevens did not appear in it until more than twenty years after his appearance in the West German edition, from which numerous translations were taken, may have banal causes or indicate a delayed hospitality. In any case, the censorship reports show how hard the experts tried to read both the author and the poems through the lens of socialist realism, which over time had become an empty phrase for a concept that remained valid.

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How to cite

APA:

Akansu, E. (2024). Stevens in Leseland, the East German “Land of Readers”. Wallace Stevens Journal, 48(2), 142-153. https://doi.org/10.1353/wsj.2024.a945704

MLA:

Akansu, Eyk. "Stevens in Leseland, the East German “Land of Readers”." Wallace Stevens Journal 48.2 (2024): 142-153.

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