The Century that Cried itself Blind

Considering this current moment of great change as well as the 20^th century when death became a master from Germany, is literature still possible? Does it still have a reason for being in a post-Auschwitz world where all cultural production can only be an expression of barbarism? Or is literature necessary, indeed indispensible, precisely because of such atrocities? Which methods must such a literature use? The 2016 Georg Büchner Prize-winning writer examines these questions and more in his poetic explorations and has a succinct and far-reaching answer at hand: through the fine-tuning of the material of reality like literature.

Marcel Beyer is a master of prose, poetry, and essay writing. His poetological essays are a necessary addition to his poetry and novels, which have found interest throughout the world.

»One always impatiently awaits Marcel Beyer’s next book to come out.« Julia Encke, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung

»Adorno, Helmut Kohl, St. Ignatius: in his collection of essays, The Century that Cried itself Blind, Marcel Beyer examines the last few decades of the Federal Republic of Germany as well as his own work.« Lothar Müller, Süddeutsche Zeitung