On Enzensberger

ISSN： 0324-4652

Source： Neohelicon, Vol.34, Iss.1, 2007-06, pp. : 217-245

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Abstract

Hans Magnus Enzensberger's lyrical oeuvre is characterized, indeed distinguished, by an intense and lifelong — or, to be more precise, career-long — experience and poetic discussion of contemporaneous history, both German and European as well as worldwide. This complex phenomenon spans the entire second half of the 20th century, extending from Enzensberger's first volume of poetry, Verteidigung der Wölfe (In Defense of the Wolves) of 1957, to his most recent collection of verse, Die Geschichte der Wolken: 99 Meditationen (The History of the Clouds: 99 Meditations) of 2003. The topics treated include ecological problems, the Cold War with its accompanying atomic threat, the German student revolt, Cuban would-be socialism, China, and Africa, etc., but likewise, if in retrospect, the Second World War as experienced by the youthful poet. In all those respects, Enzensberger, like no other lyricist, proves to be exemplary, perhaps unique, and both quantitatively and qualitatively.

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