William Grange - Historical Dictionary of German Literature to 1945

William Grange is Hixson-Lied Professor of Theatre and Film in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film at the University of Nebraska. The author of nine other books, along with several essays, book chapters, journal articles, reviews, and encyclopedia entries, Dr. Grange has also written two other books in the series of which this volume is a part. Readers will want to consult the Historical Dictionary of German Theater and Historical Dictionary of Postwar German Literature, both published by Scarecrow Press.

Grange has received several awards for his research and teaching. He was most recently named Guest Professor for American Film and Drama at the University of Heidelberg. He had earlier been awarded the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Humanities and Cultural Studies at the University of Vienna and was a Fulbright Professor at the University of Cologne, in both venues teaching in the German language. He has been awarded the University of Nebraska Vice Chancellors Award for Research and has received fellowships from the German Academic Exchange Service in Bonn, the Dorot Foundation in Rhode Island, the Mellon Foundation in Pennsylvania, the Jane Harrison Lyman Foundation in Nebraska, the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C., and the Hixson-Lied Foundation in Nevada. He has also won awards for his teaching, and on three separate occasions he has been the recipient of the Nebraska Teaching Council and Parents Award for service to students.

An Equity actor for over thirty years, Grange has appeared in professional productions in New York, with Shakespeare festivals, in musicals as an Equity Guest Artist, and at summer stock theaters. He has also appeared in several student films at the Johnny Carson School, playing rogue detectives, disaffected professors, CIA agents, acerbic fishermen, and choleric authors. He also serves as the Carson Schools graduate committee chairman and in the Nebraska Academic Senate.

This book would not have been possible without the generous financial support of the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst). This organization is responsible for bringing dozens of scholars to German archives and universities every year, and I have been privileged to have been one of its fellows on numerous occasions. The University of Nebraska Vice Chancellors Office for Research also contributed to the completion of this volume, as did the Hixson-Lied Foundation. Colleagues in both the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film and the Hixson-Lied College of Fine Arts have been especially supportive, especially when the process of writing the book took me to locations remote from the Nebraska campus.

Among those locations are the Berlin Academy of the Arts (Akademie der Knste), where Andrea Marshall Rolz was helpful well beyond the call of duty. Colleagues in several libraries throughout Germany were also helpful, particularly in the medieval manuscript collection at the University of Heidelberg. I owe Professor Dr. Patrice Berger, director of the Honors Program at the University of Nebraska my deepest thanks for his support, as I owe Professor Dr. Detlev Junker at Heidelberg a similar offering of gratitude. Likewise I am thankful for the goodwill and generosity of Dr. Thomas Bethge and Ulrike DelfsBethge in Weinheim, along with that of Dr. Jrgen Ohlhoff and Ulrike Mnkel-Ohlhoff in Berlin. To Jon Woronoff goes my heartiest thanks; as editor of the Scarecrow Press series of which this volume is a part, he remains a steadfast anchor in an often bewildering sea of historical facts, figures, and anecdotes. Yet his editorial eye remained accurate throughout the process. To my colleague Professor Harris Smith at the University of Nebraska I owe singular debts of gratitude for his support and goodwill. I should also note the debts I owe to several students, teachers, and colleagues who throughout the years have helped in the completion of this volume. My debts are so numerous that I can never repay themyet my gratitude remains, and I hope they will accept this modest expression of it.

Heidelberg, Germany

General surveys of German literature have been in copious supply since the 19th century. The volumes listed here represent the work of relatively recent scholarship with a view toward providing readers with books that are readily available in both German and English. Two recent collections in English stand out: the Watanabe-OKelly and the Wellbery editions provide generous coverage while their provocative conclusions open new avenues of thought. The Beutin volume in German (also available in English-language translation) is more compact and tightly focused. The 12-volume Borries edition is perhaps the most extensive German edition currently available.

Arndal, Steffen, et al. Geschichte der deutschen Literatur. Munich: Beck, 1997.

Bahr, Ehrhard. Geschichte der deutschen Literatur: Kontinuitt und Vernderung vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart. Tbingen: Francke, 1987.

Buml, Franz H. Geschichte der deutschen Literatur: vom Mittelalter bis zum Barock. Tbingen: Francke, 1987.

Beriger, Leonhard, ed. Deutsche Literaturgeschichte in Grundzgen: die Epochen deutscher Dichtung. Berne: Francke, 1961.

Beutin, Wolfgang, et al. Deutsche Literaturgeschichte: von den Anfngen bis zur Gegenwart. Stuttgart: Metzler, 1979.

Blinn, Hansjrgen. Informationshandbuch Deutsche Literaturwissenschaft. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 1982.

Boesch, Bruno. German Literature: A Critical Survey. London: Methuen, 1971.

Borries, Ernst von, and Erika von Borries, eds. Deutsche Literaturgeschichte. 12 Vols. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 19912003.

Bttcher, Kurt, et al. Kurze Geschichte der deutschen Literatur. East Berlin: Volk und Wissen, 1981.

Boyle, Nicholas. German Literature: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Faulhaber, Uwe K., and Penrith Goff. German Literature: An Annotated Reference Guide. New York: Garland, 1979.

Killy, Walther, et al. Die Deutsche Literatur vom Mittelalter bis zum 20. Jahrhundert: Texte und Zeugnisse. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag, 1988.

Kohlschmidt, Werner. A History of German Literature, 17601805. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1975.

Mann, Otto. Deutsche Literaturgeschichte von der germanischen Dichtung bis zur Gegenwart. Gtersloh: Bertelsmann, 1964.

Martini, Fritz . Deutsche Literaturgeschichte: von den Anfngen bis zur Gegenwart. Stuttgart: Krner, 1968.

Nadler, Josef. Geschichte der deutschen Literatur. Regensburg: Habbel, 1961.