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2007
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BD – Literature and Literary Studies
Handbuch Literaturwissenschaft [Handbook of Literary Studies]. Ed. Thomas Anz. 3 vols. Stuttgart; Weimar: Metzler, 2007. xiv, 511 p.; vi, 487 p.; vi, 420 p. 25 cm. ISBN 978-3-476-02154-0: EUR 199.95 [07-2-374]
This work is not a new edition of the 21-volume Handbuch der Literaturwissenschaft (Potsdam, 1923-1941) by Oskar Walzel, nor is it a straightforward literary history. Rather, it is a handbook concerned with establishing a new conceptual, theoretical, and methodological foundation for the study of literature in the 21st century, presented in a systematic manner. The concept of literature in this handbook is broad, encompassing both the literary elite and popular culture, and although the book has a German studies focus, it will be useful for the study of many fields and literatures. Volume 1 concentrates on texts, their production and their mediation; volume 2 focuses on methodology, analysis and interpretation; and volume 3 offers a short history of literature and an overview of careers in literature and publishing. This work is recommended for both scholars and students of literature. [hjb/ldb]
Literaturwissenschaftliches Lexikon: Grundbegriffe der Germanistik [Encyclopedia of Literary Studies: Key Concepts in German Literary Studies]. Ed. Horst Brunner and Rainer Moritz. 2d rev. and expanded ed. Berlin: Erich Schmidt, 2006. 439 p. 24 cm. ISBN 3-503-07982-3: EUR 19.95 [07-2-375]
The Literaturwissenschaftliches Lexikon presents 148 essays that interweave individual pieces of content from the history of German literature into the larger context and themes of the field, such as epochs, genres, and theory. The reader, therefore, is advised to use the table of contents and index frequently in order to find the correct entry. This is unlike some one-volume encyclopedias that explicate a field through thousands of small entries, e.g., the Metzler-Lexikon Literatur (see RREA 13:94). This new edition of the Literaturwissenschaftliches Lexikon has been reformatted for better readability and includes new entries on topics such as cultural studies and musical theater. Despite some awkward features, such as the organization of secondary literature, the volume belongs in libraries with an emphasis on German studies. [hjb/ldb]
Metzler-Lexikon Literatur: Begriffe und Definitionen [Metzler Encyclopedia of Literature: Terminology and Definitions]. Ed. Dieter Burdorf, Christoph Fasbender, and Burkhard Moennighoff. 3d fully rev. ed. Stuttgart: Weimar: Metzler, 2007. xvii, 845 p. 24 cm. Previously titled: Metzler-Literatur-Lexikon. ISBN 978-3-476-01612-6: EUR 29.95 [07-2-376]
Founded by Günther and Irmgard Schweikle, the majority of the over 4,000 entries in this new edition of the Metzler-Lexikon Literatur have been revised and updated.
The number of contributors has risen by about 300, which represents a generational change and reorientation of the field. The encyclopedia includes around 600 new terms, including terms for media and cultural studies and other related interdisciplinary fields. In comparison to the 8th edition of Kroner’s Sachwörterbuch der Literatur (see RREA 7:97), the Metzler-Lexikon Literatur seems more up-to-date with research trends and is better structured. Indeed, the Metzler-Lexikon Literatur could serve as a general reference tool for literary studies of all types, not just German. [hjb/ldb]
Was geschah mit Schillers Schädel? Alles, was Sie über Literatur nicht wissen [What Happened to Schiller’s Skull? Everything You Don’t Know about Literature]. Rainer Schmitz. Frankfurt am Main: Eichborn Berlin, 2006. 1,828 columns. 25 cm. ISBN-13: 978-3-8218-5775-6: EUR 39.90 [07-2-377]
This new reference work on world literature claims to provide the answers to questions rarely asked elsewhere. Which books were written very slowly, which ones very quickly? Which books were written in prison, which ones in bed? What are the most outrageous rejection letters sent to ultimately successful authors? Now the “Schmitz” offers insight into things not found in other (more serious) lexica: anecdotes, scandals, curiosities, mistakes, manias, the macabre and the morbid, the senseless and the superfluous. Within the approximately 1,200 entries we find such keywords as “auto exhaust,” “bigamy,” “cocaine,” “fashions,” “plagiarism,” “pseudonyms,” “tax paradise,” “wine,” across a broad palette of loosely arranged topics. We learn, for example, that Hans Christian Andersen nearly drowned while learning to swim in Copenhagen Harbor; Albert Einstein was addicted to Gummi Bears; best-selling author Barbara Cartland listened to 49 other proposals before choosing her first husband; Vladimir Nabokov was a butterfly collector; Marcel Proust had significant digestive problems; and Gottfried Keller was well under five feet tall. We also find out which authors were bald, which ones had beards, and which books were the smallest, the largest, or the heaviest. A lot of misreading also comes to the surface as prejudices take on new life and trivialities gain undue importance. On the one hand, we admire the vast reading list of the compiler; on the other hand, we would prefer the subtitle read “Everything You Don’t Need to Know about Literature” in many cases. Schmitz seems to attach labels to authors all too readily, especially those of “bisexual,” “lesbian” and “gay.” What he castigates as “errors” in the writings of famous authors, including Goethe, Shakespeare and Balzac are often simple cases of poetic license that actually heighten the artistry. There is one catchall index, but no recourse to sources or footnotes. Those looking for literary trivia that may or may not be true and those able to accept this volume’s tongue-in-cheek undertone are the probable audience. So many contradictions and appeals to sensationalism interrupt the flow that it cannot be taken seriously as a reference work. [hjb/rdh]
Dizionario dei luoghi letterari immaginari [Dictionary of Imaginary Places in Literature]. Anna Ferrari. Torino: UTET libreria, 2007. xxiii, 654 p. 22 cm. ISBN 9788802078687: EUR 24
An RREA Original Review by Thomas M. Izbicki (Rutgers University)
Ferrari has provided an alphabetical guide to imaginary places from antiquity to the present. Some are legendary, but most have an attributed author. For example, Plato appears in the entry about Atlantide [Atlantis]. The coverage is multinational, including such authors as Aristotle, Hans Sachs, Italo Calvino, Walt Disney, and Samuel R. Delany. Names of authors appear in their Italian form, such as Omero [Homer], and titles are given in the index for particular cycles of stories (e.g., Ciclo di Miss Marple).
Ferrari provides a brief introduction, giving particular attention to the differences of time and space assigned by authors to the places they create. All are intended to differ from known realities, even when based on them. A brief note explains the order of the book, and a brief bibliography follows, which includes a list of Italian translations used by Ferrari. The guide covers places as different as Homer’s Troy and Andrea Camilleri’s Montelusa and Vigàta, fictitious places in Sicily featured in his Montalbano cycle of mystery novels.
Most entries are brief but informative. Even Troia [Troy] receives little more than one page. A few imaginary places receive special treatment, with a master entry pointing the reader to other items. Thus, Terra di Mezzo (Tolkien’s Middle Earth) has a detailed table of localities categorized by type (castle, mountain, etc.). Each place on Middle Earth has its own entry (e.g., Dol Amroth). The table for Thomas Hardy’s Wessex provides indications of the real locations on which they were based; thus, for example, Casterbridge is identified as based on Dorchester. The guide also has sparse cross-references. The book concludes with a table of authors and titles and an index of imaginary places categorized by type, such as Botteghe [Shops], Castello mistico [Mystical Castle], and Vulcani [Volcanoes].
Literatur vor Ort [Literature Sites]. Ed. Arbeitsgemeinschaft Literarischer Gesellschaften und Gedenkstätten. Berlin: Directmedia, 2005. 1 CD-ROM. (Digitale Bibliothek, 137). ISBN 978-3-89853-537-3: EUR 15 [07-1-065]
This is a digitized version of the print title Literarische Gesellschaften in Deutschland: ein Handbuch (see RREA 2:146). It is a directory of 193 literary societies and 126 literary museums and memorial sites, arranged in two separate alphabetical lists. It is comprehensive in its coverage of societies in Germany but selective in its treatment of other countries. The section on literature museums and memorial sites only includes those that belong to the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Literarischer Gesellschaften und Gedenkstätten [Association of Literary Societies and Memorial Places]. The entries include contact and staff information, membership or visitor numbers, events and activities, purpose of the society, description of the museum and its holdings, operating hours and entry fees, as well as short biographies of the author-honorees, selective listings of their works, and quotations of varying lengths.
Sometimes, these quotations are too long. In one case, the entry is 200 pages, but 193 of them are the complete text of a play. Another drawback is that the society or museum staffs submitted the information, so the entries are not uniform and are occasionally incomplete. There are other flaws. For example, the Goethe and Schiller sites in Weimar are listed under Klassik Stiftung Weimar [Foundation for Classical Weimar], not by the individual authors’ names, and there is no see-reference under the entries for the authors’ names. The Schiller-Nationalmuseum [National Schiller Museum] and the Deutsches Literaturarchiv [German Literature Archive], an important institution that holds materials on many German authors, are only listed in the section on literary societies under Deutsche Schillergesellschaft [German Schiller Society], which operates the institutes, not in the museums/sites section as one might expect. Using the indexes or the CD-ROM’s search function, rather than relying on the alphabetical arrangement of the entries, rectifies some of these problems. Despite these and other limitations, Literatur vor Ort is informative, reliable, and more comprehensive than similar titles. The section on literary museums and sites is useful for planning a visit, and the 800+ illustrations are engaging. [hjb/rg]
Reclams Lexikon der deutschsprachigen Autoren [Reclam’s Encyclopedia of German-Speaking Authors]. Volker Meid. 2d updated edition. Stuttgart: Reclam, 2006. 1,087 p. 15 cm. (Reclams Universal-Bibliothek, 7664). ISBN 978-3-15-017664-1: EUR 13.80 [07-2-380]
This is the 2006 expanded low-priced 2d edition of Reclam’s Encyclopedia of German- Speaking Authors, which contains 80 more pages than the 1st edition of 2001 (see RREA 7:88). Among the over 900 authors included are Ernst Augustin, Marcel Beyer, Thomas Brussig, Franz Josef Czernin, Undine Gruenter, Norbert Gstrein, Thomas Hürlimann, Reinhard Jirgl, Bodo Kirchhoff, Ingo Schulze, W.G. Sebald, Günter Seuren, Hans Ulrich Treichel, and Feridun Zaimoglu. One can cavil at a few things: for example, the birth date for Helene Böhlau is incorrect, and death dates have not been added to the articles on deceased writers. Some contemporary authors are missing (e.g., Jürg Federspiel and Julia Franck), but in general the newest developments in German literature, even those from the beginning of the 21st century, including migration literature, are covered well.
The 2006 edition has added more up-to-date information on current living authors, lists more titles in the bibliographies, and has fixed the mistakes in the alphabetical order of the authors. At the end of the encyclopedia on pages 1,082-1,087 are six useful lists of recommended titles for further reference: (1) general biographic encyclopedias, (2) author encyclopedias of German-language literature, (3) historical and geographical biographic and bio-bibliographic works, (4) encyclopedias of female authors, (5) encyclopedias of German-Jewish authors, and (6) special encyclopedias on children’s as well as travel and adventure literature. Additional references to specific titles of secondary literature for each author, such as an introduction to the life and work, and/or a handbook, would have enhanced the value of the Encyclopedia even more.
In spite of this shortcoming, the Encyclopedia is still recommended for students and libraries. It can hold its own in comparison with competing lexicons, and is unbeatable for its price. [hjb/sas]
Was sollen Germanisten lesen?: ein Vorschlag [What Should Germanists Read? A Recommendation]. Wulf Segebrecht. 3d, rev. and expanded ed. Berlin: Erich Schmidt, 2006. 83 p. ill. 20 cm. ISBN 978-3-503-09806-4: EUR 8.90 [07-1-067]
Expanding beyond the 1st and 2d editions (see RREO 95-1-065 and RREA 7:95 respectively), Segebrecht’s 3d edition of Was sollen Germanisten lesen? is current up through 2006. Such recent works as Günter Grass’ controversial memoir Beim Häuten der Zwiebel [Peeling the Onion] and Martin Walser’s Angstblüte [Blooms of Fear] are included. Titles are organized chronologically by century and then further subdivided. For example, the 20th century, which is the longest section, has three main subsections: (1) Turn-of-the-century and Expressionism; (2) Literature of the 1920s, 1930s and Exile Literature; and (3) Postwar and Contemporary Literature. A subsequent fourth section contains 77 titles for 1989 through 2006. For the most part, only titles from German literature are included, although Segebrecht does includes a section of prominent world-literature authors, from Aeschylus (German: Aischylos) to Zola. This section is meant to offset the criticism that coverage of world literature was neglected in the previous editions. Errors noted in the 1st edition have been corrected. The question of which titles to include in such literature guides is still being discussed, and Segebrecht is careful to point out in his introduction that his choices of titles are only suggestions. However, we would have well-educated students with a firm grounding in German literature if they would read all of titles listed in Was sollen Germanisten lesen? [hjb/bwv]
This is a print version of the popular Web site Literarische Nachlässe in rheinischen Archiven (http://www.rheinische-literaturnachlaesse.de), both edited by Enno Stahl. This title includes the inventories of approximately 400 authors, corporate bodies, and literary collections in over 75 Rhineland archives, libraries and museums. The length of the author entries ranges greatly, depending on the importance of the author. The entries include biographies, selected works, influences, and correspondence, as well as location, availability, and completeness of the collection, and whether a finding aid exists. Although the bibliography lists the useful Deutsches Literatur-Lexikon: das 20. Jahrhundert; biographisches-bibliographisches Handbuch (see RREA 6:115), it is not cited in the articles. This publication replaces the dated Literarische Nachlässe in Nordrhein-Westfalen: ein Bestandsverzeichnis (see RREA 2:51) for the northern Rhineland area. A personal name index, glossary of abbreviations, directory of archives and corporate bodies, and bibliography complete this valuable publication. [hjb/rg]
Brecht-Lexikon [Brecht Lexicon]. Ed. Ana Kugli and Michael Opitz. Stuttgart; Weimar: Metzler, 2006. viii, 288 p. 24 cm. ISBN 978-3-476-02091-8: EUR 39.95 [07-1-069]
This lexicon includes approximately 350 articles on the life and work of Bertolt Brecht, as well as the biographical and literary context in which he moved. The entries cover (1) contemporaries and fellow writers with whom Brecht maintained contact; (2) poets, philosophers, and other figures who influenced his work; (3) actors, directors, and set designers with whom he worked; (4) publishers; (5) collaborators, family members, and other associates; (6) Brecht’s most important works, including individual poems; (7) reception and impact of Brecht’s work; (8) places where Brecht lived or that were significant for his work; (9) subject terms; (10) writers’ associations, exile organizations, etc.
The articles are thoroughly researched and well-organized, although the individual entries do not include citations; a list of works cited is found at the end of the volume. The lexicon also contains a timeline of Brecht’s life and work.
This concise volume is a rich and reliable resource and a good value for libraries for which Metzler’s five-volume Brecht-Handbuch (see RREA 10:90) is unaffordable. [hjb/kw]
Lion Feuchtwanger und die deutschsprachigen Emigranten in Frankreich von 1933 bis 1941 = Lion Feuchtwanger et les exilés de langue allemande en France de 1933 à 1941 [Lion Feuchtwanger and the German-Speaking Emigrés in France: 1933 to 1941]. Ed. Daniel Azuélos. Bern: Lang, 2006. 537 p. 23 cm. (Jahrbuch für Internationale Germanistik, series A, Conference Reports, 76). ISBN 978-3-03910-999-9: EUR 80.70 [07-1-070]
This volume contains the complete proceedings of a June 2005 conference sponsored by the International Feuchtwanger Society and held in Sanary-sur-Mer in Southern France, an important center for the German exile community during the Nazi period, and the home in exile of author Lion Feuchtwanger. Each of the 36 papers is published in the language in which it was delivered (French, German, or English), and includes an abstract in the two other languages. The volume includes: a keynote presentation on the German resistance in exile countries; 20 papers on Feuchtwanger’s life and works, in Germany and in exile, including treatments of film versions of his works; and 15 papers covering other exile writers, not all of whom spent their exile years in Southern France. The writers discussed include Manès Sperber, Emil Alphons Reinhardt, Willi Münzenberg, Rudolf Leonhardt, Josef Roth, Fred Wender, Siefgried Kracauer, Georg Scheuer, Franz Werfel, Soma Morgenstern, and Jean Amery. Unavoidably for a conference volume, the quality of the contributions is somewhat uneven, but on the whole the collection constitutes a welcome and multifaceted addition to the literature on Feuchtwanger and the German exile community in Southern France. [wub/kw]
Fontane-Lexikon: Namen, Stoffe, Zeitgeschichte [Fontane Lexicon: Names, Themes, Historical Context]. Helmuth Nürnberger and Dietmar Storch. München: Hanser, 2007. 517 p. 22 cm. ISBN 978-3-446-20841-4: EUR 39.90 [07-1-071]
This lexicon contains approximately 1,200 entries related to the life and work of 19thcentury realist author Theodor Fontane. A large number of the brief articles are devoted to people: family members and contemporaries with whom Fontane came in contact. Places visited by Fontane or mentioned in his work make up another sizeable category. Titles of works, names of institutions, themes in Fontane’s writings, and key terms from the author’s historical context are also given alphabetical entries. Individual entries do not include citations. The list of references at the end of the volume primarily gives citations for passages from Fontane’s writings quoted in the entries and for secondary literature concerned with Fontane’s works; they do not include literature on other figures and topics treated in the entries.
The historical and biographical information to be found in this volume is less extensive than one would expect and the glosses that the lexicon offers on various terms would be better placed in the notes to an annotated edition of the works themselves, such as Hanser’s seven-volume Sämtliche Werke [Collected Works] (München, 1962-). Nürnberger is also the co-editor, with Christian Grawe, of a useful Fontane-Handbuch (see RREA 7:101), which contains longer articles, organized thematically. [sh/kw]
Theodor-Fontane-Bibliographie: Werk und Forschung [Theodor Fontane Bibliography: Works and Secondary Literature]. Wolfgang Rasch, in association with the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Theodor-Fontane-Archiv Potsdam. Ed. Ernst Osterkamp and Hanna Delf von Wolzogen. 3 vols. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2006. xlix, 2,747 p. 24 cm. ISBN 978-3-11-018456-3; ISBN 3-11-018456-7: EUR 498 [07-1-072]
This is a near-comprehensive bibliography of the writings of Theodor Fontane and the secondary literature concerning his work. It is a model work of its kind by the creator of excellent bibliographies of the 19th-century author Karl Gutzkow (Bielefeld, 1998) and the contemporary poet Peter Rühmkopf (Bielefeld, 2004). With the support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Rasch worked in the Theodor-Fontane-Archiv in Potsdam from 1999 to 2005 to assemble this three-volume work. It inventories Fontane’s extensive writings found in the archives and supplements those holdings with materials discovered in other libraries.
Volume 1 of the bibliography is devoted to primary works and contains roughly 5,200 entries; volumes 2 and 3 encompass the secondary literature with approximately 8,800 entries. The first volume is divided into 18 chapters that comprehensively cover the known editions of the author’s literary works, including fine press editions and private printings, as well as Fontane’s extensive journalistic work for magazines and newspapers. The journalistic writings, including many that Fontane turned out while in the employ of the Prussian government, are at the core of Fontane’s production as a writer, and Rasch has identified more than 300 articles that were previously unknown. Also listed among the primary materials are Fontane’s letters, translations by Fontane, and translations of his works. Works on audio recordings and digital editions are also given here. The immense secondary literature on Fontane is divided among 25 chapters in the second and third volumes.
While Rasch aspires to near-comprehensive coverage of the literature by and about Fontane, he judiciously chooses to treat certain, less important categories of materials selectively, in order to cover the central categories exhaustively. For example, some materials held by the Fontane-Archiv, such as theses below the doctoral level, are excluded here.
The bibliography covers publications from 1839 (the year of Fontane’s first verifiable publication) through July 2005. It contains eight indexes; the first seven are title indexes to Fontane’s writings, by category (literary works, journalism, anthologies, etc.) and the eighth is an index of personal names covering all parts of the bibliography. The index refers only to the page where the index term appears, not to the numbered entry; this has the advantage of reducing the index entries, but it creates extra effort in locating the search terms on the page. There is no subject index, but this is acceptable, given the finely grained organization of the bibliography.
Rasch’s work supersedes all previous Fontane bibliographies. Not only does it make the established literature accessible though its superior organization and near-exhaustive coverage, but it provides access for the first time to previously undiscovered material. [sh/kw]
Lexikon Goethe-Zitate: Auslese für das 21. Jahrhundert; aus Werk und Leben [Lexicon of Goethe Quotations: A Selection for the 21st Century, from His Works and Life]. Ernst Lautenbach. München: Iudicium-Verlag, 2004. 1,246 p. 24 cm. ISBN 3-89129-800-5: EUR 36 [07-1-073]
This volume, by the compiler of a recent Lexikon Schiller-Zitate (see RREA 9:30), sets itself the task of making Goethe relevant for the present day. Goethe’s words are presented as a source of “practical help in life’s situations or conflicts.” The lexicon seems aimed at a readership that would rarely open a volume of Goethe’s works firsthand.
The book opens with an introduction by Lautenbach, followed by the lexicon itself, in the form of an alphabetical listing of keywords with which the quotations are associated. This is followed by a timeline displaying highlights of Goethe’s life and works, an alphabetical listing of Goethe’s works organized into several categories (autobiographical works, prose works, poetry, writings on art, etc.), and an index of personal names associated with Goethe, his work, and its reception. Unfortunately, in some cases there is no indication given as to why a particular name appears in the index.
Lautenbach’s lexicon overlaps significantly with the Lexikon der Goethe-Zitate compiled by Richard Dobel (see RREA 9:31). Dobel’s lexicon contains significantly more quotations per keyword, however. While Lautenbach’s inclusion of cross-references as well as the less-constricted page composition and larger type font make his book more user-friendly in some respects, his overuse of commentary weighs the book down. The latter is particularly problematic in cases in which a keyword in the lexicon is followed only by commentary and no quotation, undercutting user expectations and the usefulness of the book. [wh/kw]
Hölderlin-Handbuch: Leben, Werk, Wirkung [Hölderlin Handbook: Life, Work, Impact]. Ed. Johann Kreuzer. Stuttgart; Weimar: Metzler, 2002. xiv, 558 p. 25 cm. ISBN 3-476-01704-4: EUR 49.90 [07-2-392]
The Hölderlin-Handbuch is one of Metzler’s most familiar, reliable, and oft-reviewed literary handbooks. Other available Metzler handbooks include Ingeborg Bachmann (see RREA 9:78), Walter Benjamin (see IFB 07-2-322), Brecht (see RREA 8:126 and RREA 10:90), Freud (see IFB 07-2-534) Goethe (see RREA 5:116), Hegel (see IFB 05-1-064), Heidegger (see RREA 10:58), Heine (see RREA 3:149), Kant (see IFB 06-1-025), Lessing (see RREA 01-2-296), Heiner Müller (see RREA 10:101), Nietzsche (see RREA 7:64), and Rilke (see IFB 05-2-349). In typical fashion, contributions from 29 experts cover the complicated editorial history of Hölderlin’s works, his biography and background, the cultural context of his work, sources, influences, reception, and impact. The main section considers his works from Hyperion to the final poems in conjunction with his theoretical ideas, providing analysis and interpretation. The handbook includes a chronology and bibliography and is recommended for academic libraries.[hjb/ab]
Werkverzeichnis Elfriede Jelinek [Catalalog Raisonné Elfriede Jelinek]. Pia Janke. Wien: Edition Praesens,2004. 659 p. ill. 21 cm. ISBN 3-7069-0212-5: EUR 29.50 [07-2-393]
This work contains not only a catalog of the many and varied works of Elfriede Jelinek, but also a bibliography of secondary literature, including broadcasts, films, newspaper reports, and reviews, through August 2004. Title entries often include annotations or sample texts, and related entries are indicated in the margins. A supplementary volume, also by Pia Janke, dealing with the award of the Nobel Prize for Literature in October 2004, was published in 2005: Literaturnobelpreis Elfriede Jelinek. The Werkverzeichnis is supplemented by JeliNetz (http://www.univie.ac.at/jelinetz), a wiki sponsored by the Elfriede Jelinek Research Center at the University of Vienna (http://www.elfriede-jelinek-forschungszentrum.com). [sh/ab]
Das Begleitbuch zu Ernst Jünger, In Stahlgewittern [Companion to Ernst Jünger’s Storm of Steel]. Nils Fabiansson. Transl. from the English manuscript by Till Kinzel. Hamburg: Mittler, 2007. 158 p. ill. 21 cm. ISBN 978-3-8132-0888-7: EUR 19.90 [07-2-396]
Ernst Jünger’s significant reputation is based largely on In Stahlgewittern, one of the most notable and successful books on World War I. Swedish historian and archeologist Nils Fabiansson is the editor of the Historisk Tidskrift and a leading representative of the field of battlefield archeology. Fabiansson has drawn on Jünger’s war diaries and his other works, Das Wäldchen 125 [Copse 125] (1924) and Feuer und Blut [Fire and Blood] (1925) to create a companion that allows one to follow Jünger’s war experiences in situ or from an armchair. Jünger experienced all aspects of the war from January 1915 through August 1918, and Fabiansson has gathered sketches from the author’s diaries, along with photos and maps, mingling past and present images to give a panoramic view of his experience. [frh/ab]
Heinrich-Mann-Bibliographie [Heinrich Mann Bibliography]. Brigitte Nestler. Garding-Kirchspiel: Cicero-Presse. 25 cm. [07-2-398]
Vol. 2. Das Werk [Works]. 2008. 173 p. ISBN 978-3-89120-020-9: EUR 59
Volume 1 of this two-volume work was reviewed in RREA 8:103. Volume 2 consists of 13 distinct parts under the more general headings of collected works, single works, miscellaneous (interviews, Mann as co-author or illustrator), and translations (by him or of his work).
The numeration of volume 1 is retained in order to maintain compatibility and avoid duplication of entries. New entries (and newly found pre-2000 imprints) are given add-on numbers, so that they fit chronologically into the expanded whole. These entries include new editions, reprints, and newly found older texts or first editions of special interest. Likewise, the indexes in volume 1 are retained: title, personal names, translators, and newspapers and journals. Birgitte Nestler, the bibliographer, has become an authority on works by and about Heinrich Mann. Volume 3, covering secondary sources, will complete the bibliography and is slated to appear in 2011. [sh/ga]
Traumwelten: Bilder zum Werk Karl Mays. [Dream Worlds: Illustrations in the Works of Karl May]. Wolfgang Hermesmeier and Stefan Schmatz. Bamberg; Radebeul: Karl-May-Verlag. 18 cm. (Sonderband zu den Gesammelten Werken Karl Mays). [07-1-079]
Vol. 2. Illustratoren und ihre Arbeiten von 1913 bis 1930 [Illustrators and Their Work from 1913 to 1930]. 2007. 368 p. ill. ISBN 978-3-7802-0167-6: EUR 39.90
Volume 1 was reviewed in RREA 10:100. This second volume of the projected threevolume set opens with a “short historical sketch” describing the tenor of the illustrations in this historical period, dominated by the cover art of Swedish graphic artist and illustrator Carl Lindberg found in the Karl-May-Verlag “green series” edition. In other editions and translations, Lindberg’s text illustrations come to the fore, along with those of numerous other, mainly non-German illustrators such as Zdeněk Burian. Following the pattern of volume 1, the artist articles contain biographical and historical information, a bibliography of the works in which the artist’s illustrations appeared, and a sampling of the illustrations. The authors, however, state that it is not the illustrators or their work that are here the focal point, but rather the work of Karl May as represented in pictures, inviting the reader to delve deeper into May. Lacking are secondary bibliographies on the artists. A comprehensive index is planned for volume 3. [sh/rlk]
Franz Graf Pocci (1807-1876): Schriftsteller, Zeichner, Komponist unter drei Königen [Count Franz Pocci, 1807-1876: Writer, Designer, Composer for Three Kings]. Sigrid von Moisy. München: Allitera-Verlag, 2007. 166 p. ill. 24 cm. (Ausstellungskataloge/Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, 78). ISBN 978-3-86520-265-9: EUR 18 [07-1-080]
The 200th birthday of Count Franz Pocci, one of Munich’s favorite sons, spawned numerous memorial events, the most significant of which was the exhibition at the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek [Bavarian State Library] for which this catalog was produced. Author Von Moisy is certainly one of the persons most knowledgeable about Pocci. Paralleling the organization of the exhibit, the volume contains nine chapters, on childhood and youth; Pocci and the Romantic Circle; Pocci’s accomplishments in music; his service to three kings; private life; puppet plays; folk drama; his caricatures; and finally, his other artistic work. This catalog gives testimony to a prominent figure of the time, in whose life the history and culture of Munich was reflected. [sh/rlk]
Verzeichnis der Werke Franz von Poccis, 1821-2006: Gesamtverzeichnis der gedruckten Schriften, Kompositionen und biographischen Arbeiten Franz von Poccis [Bibliography of the Works of Franz von Pocci, 1821-2006: Complete Bibliography of His Printed Writings, Compositions and Biographical Works]. Manfred Nöbel. München: Allitera-Verlag, 2007. 291 p. ill. 22 cm. (Franz von Pocci: Schriftsteller, Zeichner, Komponist: Werkausgabe, Abt. 10, Nachträge, Werkverzeichnis, Register, 1; Edition Monacensia). ISBN 978-3-86520-400-4: EUR 29 [07-1-081]
Franz Count von Pocci (1807-1876), a Munich high court official, court music director and upper master of ceremonies, was a universal talent who left behind a substantial body of work as designer, writer, and composer. This bibliography, the first-published volume of the forthcoming ten-part works edition, is an unsatisfactory hybrid. Its first part consists of a facsimile reproduction, albeit with new font, of two bibliographies compiled in 1926 and 1935 by Franz von Pocci, a grandson of the same name as the Count. The second part comprises the posthumous work of Pocci researcher Manfred Nöbel (deceased 2006), edited and issued under the stewardship of Gisela Tegeler with the help of Barbara Krafft and Carolina Raffelsbauer. While grandson Pocci may be forgiven for his lack of a consistent bibliographic descriptive scheme from the standpoint of the historically conditioned standard, the same excuse cannot be made for his successor bibliographers, who need to be instructed in the rudiments of consistent description. Further, the second part suffers from incompleteness, as evidenced by the fact that for the time span 1990-2006 there are works referenced in Quellenlexikon zur deutschen Literaturwissenschaft (see RREA 10:95) that are not picked up in the bibliography. The index is also incomplete and unreliable. With this bibliography, the forthcoming edition of Pocci’s works has gotten off to a bad start. [sh/rlk]
Kleines Lexikon der Schiller-Zitate [Compact Lexicon of Schiller Quotations]. Johann Prossliner. München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 2004. 255 p. 19 cm. (dtv, 34145). ISBN 3-423-34145-9: EUR 6.95 [07-1-082]
Containing ca. 1,500 Schiller quotations with source citations and a good 3,500 cross references, this is by standards a small citation lexicon. The quotations are predominantly derived from Schiller’s dramatic works and poetry, and 20 percent of them are found in Geflügelte Worte und Zitatenschatz (Gütersloh, 1958). On the average, every one of Prossliner’s entries is enriched with 2.4 cross-references, resulting in excellent accessibility. Clearly, the user can get to the desired entry through many keyword paths. A comparison with Ernst Lautenbach’s Lexikon Schiller-Zitate (see RREA 9:30) reveals that while the latter contains far more quotations than Prossliner’s, it has very few cross-references, making Prossliner’s a much quicker search, that is, if the reader restricts himself to Schiller. That is because Lautenbach includes a substantial number of “third-party” quotations, those made about Schiller and not just by him. Therefore, the reader who wants efficient, quick access to just Schiller quotations is better served by Prossliner’s well-indexed, compact dictionary. [wh/rlk]
Supplement. 9. 2007. 105 p. ISBN 978-3-89528-626-1: EUR 18.50
This is simply another annual supplement to the Bibliographie Arno Schmidt begun in 1992, complete with the same weaknesses of past installments (see, for example, RREO 94-3/4-454 and RREA 3:132, 5:125, 7:113, 9:87, and 10:92). Citations are mostly from 2005 and 2006, with good coverage of audiovisual offerings. One should first consult Robert Weninger’s Arno Schmidt Auswahlbibliographie: wissenschaftliche Sekundärliteratur nach Titeln und Themen (see RREA 12:113). [sh/ab]
Lexikon deutschsprachiger Epik und Dramatik von Autorinnen: 1730-1900 [Encyclopedia of German-Language Narrative Literature and Drama by Women Writers, 1730-1900]. Ed. Gudrun Loster-Schneider and Gaby Pailer. Tübingen: Francke, 2006. xii, 491 p. 25 cm.+ CD-ROM. ISBN 978-3-7720-8189-7: EUR 128 [07-1-083]
This volume may be seen as a complement to Ute Hechtfischer’s Metzler-Autorinnen-Lexikon (see RREA 9:242), originally published in 1998, as well as to the Lexikon deutschsprachiger Schriftstellerinnen 1800-1945 by Brinker-Gabler, Ludwig, and Wöffen published in 1986. It includes articles on approximately 340 plays and prose works (but no poetry) by some 200 German women writers of the 18th and 19th centuries. Both major and less well-known writers are covered; the coverage of non-canonical authors is particularly impressive. The articles include information on the content and themes of works, suggestions for interpretation, and short bibliographies. Very limited biographical information is provided, even for less well-known writers, where arguably more would have been helpful. Although the networkable CD-ROM includes only a digital version of the encyclopedia, the option to search across the text of the work is nonetheless a useful one. [hjb/cjm]
Shakespeare und die Verlockungen der Biographie: vorgetragen in der Gesamtsitzung vom 17. Februar 2006 [Shakespeare and the Enticements of Biography: Presented in the Plenary Session of February 17, 2006]. Andreas Höfele. München: Verlag der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2006. 60 p. ill. 22 cm. (Sitzungsberichte/Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse, 2006, 5). ISBN 978-3-7696-1640-8: EUR 12 [07-1-085]
The choice of title and his opening remarks show that Höfele is unaware of the wealth of new knowledge about the life and work of Shakespeare, or else chooses not to make use of it. Calling up the name of 18th-century Shakespeare editor George Steevens, who actually knew very little about the author, he flabbergasts his readers with the assertion that the entirety of what is known for certain about Shakespeare’s life can be confined to the space of his gravestone. Whoever desires an objective discussion of recent and current Shakespeare biography will be disappointed. With the exception of the work of Greenblatt and the superficial treatment of a couple others, none of the biographical studies of Shakespeare after 1998 is examined, nor are any of my [i.e., Hildegard Hammerschmidt-Hummel] books that appeared from 1999 to 2006, containing new sources and evidence, which Höfele obviously would like to silence. Thus, Höfele’s claim to a measured, critical treatment of new Shakespeare biographical research cannot be supported. His approach is strongly selective, filled with gaps, and one-sided. [hhh/rlk]
English Literatures across the Globe: A Companion. Ed. Lars Eckstein. Paderborn: Fink, 2007. 360 p. 24 cm. (UTB, 8345). ISBN 978-3-7705-42529: EUR 26.90 [07-2-420]
The burgeoning profile of world literatures in English poses a challenge especially for teachers of English at the upper secondary-school level, in particular identifying from a wide range of nations and cultures the most interesting texts, while doing justice to the variety available. English Literatures across the Globe offers a guide to literatures from 12 different countries or regions (Great Britain, West Africa, South Africa, East Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, the United States, Canada, and Ireland). For each region there is an introduction, a historical-political background essay, an overview of the literary scene, excerpts from representative texts, and a recommended reading list. [tk/gw]
Lexikon der altnordischen Literatur: die mittelalterliche Literatur Norwegens und Islands [Dictionary of Old Norse Literature: The Medieval Literature of Norway and Iceland]. Rudolf Simek and Hermann Pálsson. 2d, expanded and rev. ed. by Rudolf Simek. Stuttgart: Kröner, 2007. xiv, 434 p. 18 cm. (Kröners Taschenausgabe, 490). ISBN 978-3-520-49002-5: EUR 19.80 [07-2-422]
Die Edda [The Edda]. Rudolf Simek. München: Beck, 2007. 128 p. 18 cm. (Beck’sche Reihe, 2419; C. H. Beck Wissen). ISBN 978-3-406-56084-2: EUR 7.90 [07-2-423]
Rudolf Simek, the author of these two volumes, is also the editor of the Lexikon der germanischen Mythologie (see RREA 13:205 for a review of the 3d edition).
The 1st edition of the Lexikon der altnordischen Literatur appeared in 1987. The 2d edition includes some 30 new articles on authors, works (the largest proportion), subjects, genres, and motifs. The dictionary covers Old West Nordic literature from Norway and Iceland from the 9th through the15th century; the written language itself dates from the 12th century. For additional, thorough discussion of Icelandic sagas, readers are also referred to Simek’s monograph, Die Edda.
The Lexikon also includes authors, works, and genres outside the Old Norse cultural circle, if these have served as models, inspirations, or translation templates for Old Norse literature. Most articles are brief, with the exception of survey articles (e.g., on laws or the saga). All articles close with a number of literary references, which have been updated for the 2d edition. These references cover manuscripts, editions, translations, literature, and where applicable artistic reception and influence. [sh/ga]
Dictionnaire étymologique des mots français venant de l’arabe, du turc et du persan [Etymological Dictionary of French Words Derived from Arabic, Turkish, and Persian]. Georges A. Bertrand. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2007. 149 p. 25 cm. ISBN 9782296032361: EUR 14.50
Dictionnaire des mots français d’origine arabe (et turque et persane): accompagné d’une anthologie littéraire, 400 extraits d’auteurs français, de Rabelais à ... Houellebecq [Dictionary of French Words of Arabic (and Turkish and Persian) Origin: Accompanied by a Literary Anthology, 400 Selections from French Authors, from Rabelais to ... Houellebecq]. Salah Guemriche. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 2007. 877 p. 24 cm. ISBN 9782020932691: EUR 35
An RREA Original Review by Rebecca R. Malek-Wiley (Tulane University)
As explained in their introductions, each of these etymological dictionaries aims to fill a gap both in the popular and in much scholarly awareness of the extent to which French vocabulary is derived from Arabic, as well as from Turkish and Persian. They trace and highlight cultural connections and influences of Middle-Eastern cultures upon French language and civilization. Both compilers are well-educated nonacademic writers steeped in Middle-Eastern and French cultures. Bertrand, a former diplomat, does research on cultural and artistic relations between the Islamic and occidental worlds. Guemriche, a journalist and novelist, is an Algerian who has lived in France for over 30 years.
While Arabic is covered more than the other two languages, classical Arabic words were sometimes based on the Persian, as these works illustrate. Classical, standard Arabic and its regional variants are included. The vocabulary in both books, arranged alphabetically by the French word, consists of words that one might expect (e.g., couscous), along with others so fully integrated into French that their origins might surprise, such as hasard [chance, luck, or hazard], used first for a game or throw of dice and, according to these sources, based on Arabic al-zahr (pronounced “az-zahr”), a game of dice.
Bertrand’s Dictionnaire étymologique des mots français venant de l’arabe, du turc et du persan (hereafter Bertrand) categorizes its words based on their period of derivation, as classical (medieval to early modern, during the time of the Islamic and early Ottoman empires), colonial, or contemporary. Words in the earliest group often entered French via intermediate languages, such as Medieval Latin or Spanish, and in some cases spread via French to English; Arabic itself was sometimes an intermediate language. For example, janissaire [janissary] came from the Turkish yeni çeri, new troupe, via Italian giannizzero; élixir came from Arabic ‘al-iksîr, the philosopher’s stone, itself derived from the Late Greek xērion.
Colonial terms usually reflected the experiences of soldiers returning to France (e.g., guitoune [tent], which has Arabic and Greek roots and was first used by the French in Algeria for military tents) and French residents overseas. Some English terms resulting from British colonial contacts also made their way into French (e.g., pyjama [pajamas], initially based on Persian). A number of the recent words (e.g., tchador for a type of veil or Muslim veils generally) have entered standard journalistic and political discourse, while others are part of the slang of the banlieues [suburbs], where many inhabitants are of North African background. Bertrand documents social change in stating, for example, that ahnaych, based on Moroccan Arabic anhoch, snake, developed two meanings with changes in generations: from ca. 1950, immigrants used it to refer to a sharp-tongued woman, whereas by the 1990s it came to be a slang term for the police.
Each brief entry generally consists of a sentence to one paragraph, with the French word; its part of speech, with gender if a noun; the language, with dialect when applicable, from which it is derived; the original word in that language and its literal translation; the date of entry into French (by specific year of appearance in writing, if ascertained); and other relevant information, such as further explanations of relationships between or among meanings or the historical context of the transmission. A few tentative derivations are included, along with caveats about them (e.g., drogue [drug] from Arabic durâwa, wheat ball, noted as possible but problematic). There are some “see” cross-references. The book ends with a concise bibliography of general etymological dictionaries, linguistic studies, and historical and cultural works.
Guemriche’s Dictionnaire des mots français d’origine arabe (et turque et persane) (hereafter Guemriche) traces the history of nearly 400 words–their etymology, orthographic evolution, and usages–and is distinctive in providing an anthology of French texts in which they appear. Each two-page entry cites the French word, its part of speech, with gender if a noun, and the source word in the roman alphabet; Arabic and some Persian words are also given in the Arabic alphabet. The dates of first attestation in French and intermediate languages are specified, as are many words from which the Arabic term derived, with Greek in both Greek and roman fonts. Variant meanings are frequently given, together with examples of phrases to provide a context of early use in French. Additional discussion may include comparisons of alternative etymologies in different dictionaries, a summary of morphological and orthographic changes, additional historical background, or other relevant information. An asterisk after a word within an entry indicates that it has its own entry; there are no “see” references from variant spellings.
The literary passages, which range from a half page to a page in length, are mostly prose, with some poetry and drama. Examples of sources include the verse Fables of Antoine Houdar de La Motte, the correspondence of Gustave Flaubert, Marcel Proust’s Du côté de chez Swann [Swann’s Way], and an interview with Jacques Derrida. The word in question is typically in bold font. Each selection ends with a citation that includes publisher, date, and page number. While the passages themselves usually do not bring out the derivation of the terms, cumulatively they furnish an illustration of the extent to which words based on Arabic, Turkish, and Persian have penetrated the language of quintessentially French authors.
In addition to the main alphabetical section, this dictionary begins with a brief list of the principal dictionaries consulted, a preface by noted Algerian author Assia Djebar, and a fairly long historical and analytical introduction. It ends with a 36-page bibliography of etymological, morphological, and historical resources (primarily French imprints), as well as of the literary sources used in the anthology, then a table including each French term along with the author and title quoted for it and the page number.
These two etymological resources partly complement one another, each potentially useful–to some extent in different ways. Perhaps unexpectedly, Bertrand, while over 700 pages shorter than Guemriche, packs in more entries. For example, under the letter “G,” they share 14 words in common; Bertrand includes 13 words not in Guemriche; and Guemriche includes two words not in Bertrand. Bertrand is typically the stronger in contemporary political and religious identifications (e.g., Hezbollah, salafisme [Salafism, a traditionalist Islamic movement]) and slang terms. It also lends itself well to quick perusals of its concise content and immediate identification of the period of derivation.
As for Guemriche, it provides longer entries with more in-depth information, including literary contexts and detailed bibliographic citations, and frequently traces more stages of etymological and orthographic development. Examples include the entries in each dictionary for amalgame [amalgam, in first its alchemical, then more general sense] and pastèque [watermelon]. Consistent with this scholarly approach is the recording of Arabic words in their original alphabet. Its list of words at the end, a listing not found in Bertrand, is particularly convenient given the length of Guemriche.
For specialists, more information on the system of transliteration that each compiler uses for Arabic and Persian would be useful. Bertrand’s romanization appears to be Frenchbased, rather than using a standard international system such as ISO 233:1984, Qalam, or the Encyclopaedia of Islam; an example is the use of “ou” rather than “ū.” Guemriche mixes approaches, for example using both “ei” and “ay” for the same Arabic spelling and representing long vowels with a macron in many but not all cases; occasionally, it includes more than one romanized form (e.g., Persian pilaou, pilaw, and pilāw).
For the words checked, the derivations provided were almost always very similar between the two dictionaries. They occasionally did vary slightly, primarily in the intermediate languages named (e.g., for pyjama, Guemriche specifies English and Hindi as intermediate languages, only alluding to Urdu, whereas Bertrand names English and Urdu, not Hindi) and in the extent to which original Greek, Latin, or Persian terms from which certain Arabic words derived are noted.
While neither compiler claims to have provided a definitive work–rather, both seek to serve as pioneers–both resources fill a niche. The few other similar works listed in OCLC’s WorldCat that are still in print are limited to either Arabic or Turkish. The dense and scholarly Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, vol. 19, Orientalia (Basel, 1967; compiled addenda by Raymond Arveiller, Tübingen, 1999) is arranged by the term of origin, whereas Bertrand and Guemriche are more conveniently arranged for students of French and other francophones as well as more accessible in style. Both are useful and enlightening resources for studies of linguistics, literature (especially Guemriche), cultural history, sociology, international relations (Bertrand more directly), and science.
Dictionnaire du roman populaire francophone [Dictionary of the French-Language Popular Novel]. Ed. Daniel Compère. Paris: Nouveau monde éditions, 2007. 490, xxxii p. ill. 25 cm. ISBN 9782847362695: EUR 39
An RREA Original Review by Rebecca R. Malek-Wiley (Tulane University)
This resource contains 500 entries on French-language popular novels from 1790 to the 21st century. In the introduction, Compère (Université de Paris III–Sorbonne nouvelle) stresses that popular fiction represents the largest part of literary production and thus deserves greater study than literary critics have accorded it in the past. While he acknowledges that this category is difficult to define, he discusses diverse criteria that guided the selection: publications intended for a broad public (inexpensive, widely diffused, and often illustrated); the frequent reuse of story lines; the reappearance of characters in other works (by the same or a different author); and the widespread use of pseudonyms. The genres covered vary, including, for example, crime novels, fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, romance, adventure, westerns, swashbucklers, and parody. Children’s literature is included to a limited extent.
It should be noted that the definition of “francophone” is limited almost entirely to works published in France, Belgium, and Québec, with brief references to Africa. There are occasional discussions of non-francophone literature, as in the entry “Fantasy,” which includes British and US authors. The choice of specific works and topics was affected by the intent to reduce overlap with reference sources that have already dealt with particular genres: Encyclopédie de l’utopie, des voyages extraordinaires et de la science fiction [Encyclopedia of Utopias, Strange Voyages, and Science Fiction], by Pierre Versins (Lausanne, 1972, 2d ed. 1984) and Dictionnaire des littératures policières [Dictionary of Detective Literatures], edited by Claude Mesplède (Nantes, 2003; revised ed. 2007).
The entries deal with:
Most articles run from half to a full page, with a few up to two pages, e.g., “Verne, Jules.” Each is initialed by the contributor; many close with brief bibliographies. In boxes inserted here and there, contemporary authors describe their own work in terms of popular fiction.
The volume also features a fairly extensive insert with colored illustrations (mostly reproductions of novel covers) and closes with a general bibliography; a brief chronology of dates when genres first appeared or series were launched; a list of contributors (many but by no means all with their affiliations); indexes of authors, series, genres, and characters; and a table of contents, which is handy for determining quickly whether an entry is available.
The alphabetical arrangement is usually straightforward and the dictionary easy to consult, once its conventions are figured out. For example, a genre name is generally entered under its distinctive term, e.g., roman d’aventures [adventure novel] under “Aventures (roman d’);” characters with surnames are entered under the surname, e.g., “Lupin, Arsène.” Types of entries are sometimes distinguished by typography, such as quotation marks for series.
Given the huge potential scope of popular fiction, there are inevitable omissions from this one-volume resource, so works that concentrate on a single genre, such as those named above, should also be consulted when available. Nevertheless, Dictionnaire du roman populaire francophone packs in a wide range of authors, titles, and subjects in a convenient format for reference–and provides refreshing reading to dip into for enjoyment–for researchers, students, and other interested non-specialists. Recommended for all academic library collections.
Padova: bibliografia storico letteraria, 1472-1900 [Padua: Historico-Literary Bibliography, 1472-1900]. Rino Lauro. Padova: Libreria ai due Santi editrice, 2007. xxii, 597 p. ill. 30 cm. EUR 70
An RREA Original Review by Sebastian Hierl (Harvard University)
Rino Lauro’s Bibliografia storico letteraria is an in-depth bibliography of printed books pertaining to the literary history of the northeastern Italian city of Padua (Veneto), covering the years 1472 through 1900. Within this broad range, the bibliography records all publications of literary and bibliographic importance, with the aim of providing a bibliophilic history of Padua that expands and builds upon previous bibliographic histories of the city, notably Emmanuele Antonio Cicogna’s Saggio di bibliografia veneziana (Venezia, 1847) and Giuseppe Vedova’s Biografia degli scritti padovani (Padova, 1832-1836). Lauro’s laudable endeavor–which, according to the publisher, took years to complete–stops with the year 1900. This is due to the sheer volume of publications that appeared in the 20th century and the fact that publications since 1901 are generally captured and accurately described in library catalogs, including those of local libraries and archives, as well as in the Indice SBN, the Italian union catalog.
The bibliography is published as an attractive, though Spartan, black-and-white softcover book. It is divided into five sections: an introduction that includes brief comments by the president of the region of Veneto and by the diplomat-writer Sergio Romano (1929- ); a six-page bibliography of sources that were consulted in the compilation of this bibliophilic history; a brief description of abbreviations; the main body of the bibliography, consisting of about 5,000 descriptive entries; and, at the end, a rich and thorough body of indexes. There are indexes of people and locations (including theaters, churches, public institutions, schools and colleges, businesses and companies, etc.); publishers and printers located in Padua; and publishers and printers who produced works about Padua but were located outside of the city. A chronology also lists the marriage dates of people who played significant roles in the literary history of the city.
The titles described have been selected for their pertinence to the bibliophilic history of Padua, with an emphasis on literary history. These are focused on publications of interest to a collector strictly interested in printed books. Excluded are manuscripts and archival materials, periodicals, pamphlets and loose-leaf publications, calendars, and photographic collections (including books of photographs, such as reproductions of postcards), as well as administrative and commercial publications. In like manner, subjects of lesser relevance to the city’s bibliographic history are excluded, such as publications pertaining to agriculture, the environment, the sciences, and law. Even theology and philosophy are excluded. The division between these disciplines and those that are of literary interest is not as evident in earlier centuries. The author strictly focuses on works he considers as pursuing literary aspirations: literature and titles pertaining to literary history and the history of the book, which includes publications on the history of publishers and printing presses in Padua, as well as editions with remarkable typographic features. In an attempt to capture the qualities of notable publications, the entries are enriched with numerous reproductions of title pages, as well as decorations, illustrations, and seals from the originals.
The bibliographic entries consist of author information (including pseudonyms); an accurate transcription of the title, including a description and, when warranted, a reproduction of the title page; publishing location and publishing or printing date; format (folio, octavo, etc.); number of pages; a reproduction of any signatures by the publisher, printer, or illustrator; and a description of any particular characteristics, such as decorations, illustrations, and tables that are inherent to the text. Markings that are not original to the text, such as owner signatures and annotations or ex-libris bookplates, are excluded. All transcriptions follow the exact appearance of the original, except that any lengthy and non-essential formulas within the title or author statement have been left out.
As an educational center and the location of one of Europe’s earliest universities, founded in 1222, Padua produced scholars, publishers, and printers who had wideranging influence on the distribution of knowledge in early modern Europe. Padova: bibliografia storico letteraria, 1472-1900 reflects that significant cultural role. With this publication, which received support by the Libreria ai due Santi editrice and the state of Veneto, Rino Lauro succeeded in compiling a comprehensive bibliography on the literary history of Padua. It is an essential publication for research libraries with strong Italian holdings and with an interest in the history of the book.
Leopardi-Rezeption im deutschsprachigen Raum = Leopardi-ricezione nell’area di lingua tedesca. [Leopardi Reception in the German-Speaking Regions]. Adrian La Salvia. 2 vols. Recanati: Edizioni del CNSL, 2004. 258, 278 p. 24 cm. (Testi e documenti, Centro Nazionale di Studi Leopardiani, 6). Dr. phil. diss., Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 1997. EUR 28.40 (Centro Nazionale di Studi Leopardiani,Via Monte Tabor 2, I-62019 Recanati, e-mail: cnsl@mercurio.it) [07-1-087]
On the occasion of the bicentennial of Giacomo Leopardi’s (1798-1837) birth IFB published an extended review of multiple exhibit catalogs and bibliographies on this great and influential 19th-century Italian poet. Several of these reviews appeared in RREA 9:94-98. His impact in translations and interpretations is documented by the many contributions in the Studi Leopardiani, (see IFB 03-1-158) but to date we have lacked a comprehensive bibliography of Leopardi reception in the German-speaking world. This is now offered by Adrian La Salvia, research associate at the Institute for Romance Languages of the University of Erlangen. The bibliography, intended as a companion volume to a yet-to-be published monograph, includes only works published through 2000 and provides apparently reliable bibliographic information but with somewhat inconsistent indications of library holdings. Following a first section that contains guidance for using the bibliography, six further sections contain entries that are arranged chronologically, but the selection criteria and logic are not explained. The second section–primary literature–includes first editions as well as later standard editions. The third–primary literature in Germany–lists Italian texts published in Germany. These are followed by individually published translations, arranged alphabetically by translator within each year, and then by translations in anthologies and periodicals.
The first comprehensive collection of translations was made by Karl Ludwig Kannegiesser in 1837. Other significant translators are Robert Hamerlin, Gustav Brandes, Paul Heyse, Ludwig Wolde, and Hanno Helbling. Translations from anthologies outnumber those from periodicals or newspapers, reflecting the lack of reliable indexing for the many 19th-century periodicals. The most frequent periodical translator was Rainer Maria Rilke. Works indicative of Leopardi’s reception and influence are apparently arbitrarily divided into two sections, 1822-1948 and 1949-2000, and are followed by sections on secondary literature and cited bibliographies. Striving for completeness, La Salvia has included in the sections on reception even the most far-flung allusions to Leopardi, so the lack of annotations leaves the frustrated reader unable to determine which of these leads may be worth pursuing. The completeness of the bibliography is somewhat difficult to assess. Comparison with the Bibliographie der deutschen Übersetzungen aus dem Italienischen von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart (Tübingen, 2004) reveals no additional self-contained translations, but fully documenting the translations found in anthologies and in the many unindexed 19th-century periodicals would be difficult.
It is clear that this work was not designed to stand alone, but even failing the planned monograph and despite a number of inconsistencies and inconveniences, this volume does provide a new and generally solid basis for the study of the German reception of Leopardi. [sh/ab]
Bibliografia delle opere a stampa di Giambattista Marino [Bibliography of the Printed Works of Giambattista Marino]. Francesco Giambonini. Firenze: Olschki, 2000. 922 p. 24 cm. (Biblioteca di bibliografia italiana, 161). ISBN 88-222-4876-7: EUR 71 [07-1-088]
The task of compiling a bibliography of works by an Italian author, even for such a major figure as Giambattista Marino, can be a daunting one. Since the institution of a national library was a fairly late development on the Italian peninsula, compiling such a bibliography entails visits to a large number of libraries and overcoming the hurdles placed in one’s way by the still unsatisfactory state of many library catalogs. Francesco Giambonini has devoted years of labor to the compilation of a bibliography of the works of Giambattista Marino, one of the most significant authors of the Italian Baroque, who was born in Naples in 1569 and died there in 1625.
This is Giambonini’s second opus devoted to the works of Marino: between 1995 and 1998, in four issues of the annual Studi secenteschi, he published a bibliography of editions of Marino’s works printed between 1700 and 1940. The title of the present volume is misleading; it should have included the necessary span of dates to show that this is, in fact, a bibliography of editions printed between 1599 and 1700. In other words, it is the “prequel” to Giambonini’s previous bibliography. Giambonini visited 159 libraries in the course of his work, although for unspecified reasons he limited himself primarily to libraries in northern and central Italy. The National Library in Naples was among the libraries he chose to visit, although, curiously, the libraries of Rome were not.
The bibliography is organized into five parts: (1) complete editions of individual works; (2) partial editions of individual works and anthologies devoted to Marino’s works; (3) anthologies of multiple authors in which a text by Marino is included; (4) editions of musical works containing a setting of one of Marino’s texts; (5) works by other authors. The descriptions are rich in detail and include full diplomatic transcriptions of the title pages–though nowadays one must ask whether such transcriptions are worth the effort, given the ease of providing an image of each title page, either within the book or on an accomapanying CD-ROM. Unfortunately Giambonini decided against including fingerprints for the copies he describes. Although in parts 1 and 2 he attempts to provide an exhaustive list of every known edition, one must suspect that he has in fact missed some, since he did not visit every library in which an edition of a Marino work might be found.
Giambonini has included a total of 14 indexes and appendices: (1) a chronology of all editions in parts 1 and 2; (2) a list of works by genre; (3) a list of libraries visited; (4) a list of places of publication; (5) printers’ devices and signets; (6) signet mottos; [Ed. note: (7) is missing from the IFB review] (8) engravers; (9) former owners; (10) uniform titles for the works listed in part 3; (11) composers of the musical works listed in part 4; (12) authors of the works listed in part 5; (13) first lines of poems by authors other than Marino; (14) an index of names.
Altogether, this is a most impressive work, despite the few minor faults mentioned above. [sh/crc]
Russische Schriftsteller und der Literaturnobelpreis (1901-1955) = Russkie pisateli i Nobelevskaia Premiia. [Russian Writers and the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1901-1955].Tat’iana Marchenko. Köln: Böhlau, 2007. 626 p. 24 cm. (Bausteine zur slavischen Philologie und Kulturgeschichte: A. Slavistische Forschungen, 55). ISBN 978-3-412-14006-9: EUR 69.90 [07-1-089]
The unique place of the Nobel Prize for literature as the most widely accepted indicator of literary quality inevitably invites discussion about what criteria determined the prizewinner. In the case of Russian writers, literary considerations have always been closely tied to politics. The first Russian author to receive the Prize was Ivan Bunin in 1933, followed by Boris Pasternak in 1958. Many significant other writers (such as Leo Tolstoy) were for various reasons overlooked by the Nobel Prize Committee.
The first chapter of this book, written by a scholar of Russian exile literature who is based in Moscow, presents the history of the Nobel Prize and discusses the awarding policies as well as the composition of the committee in different years. The work uses unpublished documentation from the archives of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, which provides a behind-the-scenes look into the committee’s deliberations. The second chapter looks at four Russian writers (Tolstoy, Merezhkovskii, Gorky, and Ivan Shmelev) who were nominated but did not receive the prize. While the rejection of Tolstoy is surely among the most incomprehensible decisions of the Nobel committee, the rest of the deliberations follow a definite pattern. After the revolution of 1917, the committee strongly favored Russian émigré authors to the disadvantage of Soviet writers, which resulted in numerous political complications (most famously when the prize was awarded to Pasternak, who was then forced to decline this honor). Chapter Three is completely dedicated to Ivan Bunin, who had been proposed as a candidate many times before a positive decision was reached. The fourth chapter considers two lesser-known unsuccessful candidates, while the epilogue looks at the controversial decision to award the prize to Mikhail Sholokhov in 1965.
Utilizing rich archival sources, the book provides a faceted analysis of the reasons determining the success or failure of several Russian candidates for the Nobel Prize for literature. It discusses the differences in how their work was received in Russia and in the West, which accounts for some unexpected outcomes.
The German main title is misleading; this book is entirely in Russian, without even a German summary. That does not deter from the fact that this book is an indispensable resource for the study of Russian literature of the 20th century and deserves a place in the collection of every academic library. [ks/as]
A Bibliographical Guide to Classical Studies. Graham Whitaker. Hildesheim: Olms-Weidmann. 26 cm. [07-2-427]
Vol. 5. Literature: Seneca-Zosimos (entries 13739- 17559). 2007. x, 340 p. ISBN 978-3-487-13322-5: EUR 122
Volumes 1 and 2 of this work appeared in 1997 and received an extensive review at that time (see RREA 4:174); volumes 3 and 4 were published in 2000 and 2003 (see RREA 6:147 and 9:103, respectively). A plan of the edition was included in the initial volume, but things have changed with the passage of time, and one has the impression that the author has somewhat lost control of this sprawling work, which began life as a thesis in 1984. All the literature entries were originally supposed to be contained in volumes 1 through 4, but they have expanded into the additional volume under review here. Originally, volume 5 was intended to cover Greek and Latin philology, but that will presumably be pushed into one of the remaining four volumes whose future publication is promised by the author in his brief foreword to volume 5. A time-frame for publication of the remaining volumes (which are intended to cover such fields as archaeology, art, architecture, mythology, and philosophy) is not given.
Since it is more than ten years since the work’s scope was described in Volume 1, a brief summary is in order. The bibliography’s coverage commences with the year 1873, chosen because it was the year in which C. Bursian’s Jahresbericht über die Fortschritte der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft began publication. Publications issued after 1980 are not included, and the choice of that end date is basically arbitrary, as the author admits. For the forthcoming volumes 6 through 9, the author plans to extend coverage to the year 2000.
The major fault of Whitaker’s bibliography is its limitation to monographs only, i.e. its exclusion of articles in periodicals. To be sure of finding everything published on classical studies, it is thus still necessary to consult L’année philologique (which does cover periodical literature) in addition to this bibliography. Now, the online availability of L’année philologique, 1949-present, eliminates the arduous paging through individual annual volumes.
The author entries in Whitaker’s bibliography begin with comprehensive works dealing with an author’s entire oeuvre are listed first, followed by sections devoted to individual works, grouped according to their genre. In all sections, the works are listed according to the following categories: (1) dictionaries, encyclopedias; (2) handbooks; (3) surveys; (4) bibliographies; (5) editions; (6) commentaries, scholia, and indexes; and (7) studies. Titles are given with fullness and accuracy; reprint editions are indicated as such. At the level of individual citations, titles are listed in chronological order.
In spite of the growing online competition, Whitaker’s bibliography is still a good tool for initial inquiries or for locating a particular edition of a text. [sh/crc]
Metzler-Lexikon antiker Literatur: Autoren, Gattungen, Begriffe [Metzler’s Lexicon of Classical Literature: Authors, Genres, Concepts]. Ed. Bernhard Zimmermann. Stuttgart; Weimar: Metzler, 2004. vi, 216 p. 24 cm. ISBN 3-476-02044-4: EUR 24.95 [07-2-428]
The Metzler-Lexikon offers circa 1,000 articles that present, according to the blurb on the book’s back cover, “brief and reliable information on the entire range of Greek and Roman literature.” The articles are for the most part very brief; only a few major topics, such as “Elegy” and “Epigram,” and a few major authors, such as Aristotle and Cicero, are deemed worthy of lengthy treatment. The short articles dispense with bibliographies; where bibliographies are included, they tend to deal entirely with recent secondary literature. The literature listed is quite current and up-to-date.
The Lexikon claims to be aimed at interested laypersons, students, and specialists in the field, and each of these audiences is likely to turn to one of the other reference works currently on the market. The specialist will prefer Der Neue Pauly, while laypersons and students can choose among several reputable and inexpensive lexica, all of which offer more comprehensive coverage of this area, even though their bibliographies may not be quite as current as those in this work. [sh/crc]
Geschichte der antiken Texte: Autoren- und Werklexikon [History of the Texts of Classical Antiquity: A Lexicon of Authors and Works]. Ed. Manfred Landfester and Brigitte Egger. Stuttgart; Weimar: Metzler, 2007. x, 662 p. 25 cm. (Der neue Pauly: Supplemente, 2). ISBN 978-3-476-02030-7: EUR 129.95 [07-2-430]
This lexicon is intended as a supplement to the Altertum [Antiquity] section of the well-known encyclopedia of classical antiquity, Der Neue Pauly (see RREA 4:178 and 6:273). For this volume, some 250 of the most significant authors and texts of classical antiquity were chosen for more in-depth treatment. Coverage ranges through Greek and Latin literature from Homer to Late Antiquity, and includes the major works of Early Christian literature; research on the transmission of texts receives major attention. Articles are presented in alphabetical order by author’s name; each article is signed by one of the 39 contributors. Each article begins with a summary offering essential dates and facts in brief form. The summary is followed by complete work lists, usually grouped by genre. The work lists include the original and the German title; citations of manuscripts; available editions; lists of early and modern translations; and lists of commentaries. The information provided for early printed editions is rather scant, which may make it difficult to identify exactly the edition in question, even when one consults the Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachbereich erschienenen Drucke des XVI. Jahrhunderts (VD 16). This volume represents a welcome updating and expansion of the older Geschichte der Textüberlieferung der antiken und mittelalterlichen Literatur, which has been around since 1961. [sh/crc]
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