A Companion to the Works of Hermann Hesse
Published on 1. August 2013
Book
Paperback/Softback
450 pages
978-1-57113-581-0 (ISBN)
Description
New essays on the works and themes of Hesse, one of the most perennially relevant and widely-read German authors.
Today, forty years after Timothy Leary's suggestion that hippies read Hermann Hesse while "turning on," Hesse is once again receiving attention: faced with ubiquitous materialism, war, and ecological disaster, we discover that these problems have found universal expression in the works of this master storyteller. Hesse explores perennial themes, from the simple to the transcendental. Because he knows of the awkwardness of adolescence and the pressures exerted on us to conform, his books hold special appeal for young readers and are taught widely. Yet he is equally relevant for older readers, writing about the torment of a psyche in despair, or our fear of the unknown. All these experiences are explored from the perspective of the individual self, for Hesse the repository of the divine and the sole entity to which we are accountable. This volume of new essays sheds light on his major works, including Siddhartha, Der Steppenwolf, and Das Glasperlenspiel, as well as Rosshalde, Klingsors letzter Sommer, Klein und Wagner, and the poetry. Another six essays explore Hesse's interest in psychoanalysis, music, and easternphilosophy, the development of his political views, the influence of his painting on his writing, and the relationship between Hesse and Goethe.
Contributors: Jefford Vahlbusch, Osman Durrani, Andreas Solbach, Ralph Freedman, Adrian Hsia, Stefan Hoeppner, Martin Swales, Frederick Lubich, Paul Bishop, Olaf Berwald, Kamakshi Murti, Marco Schickling, Volker Michels, Godela Weiss-Sussex, C. Immo Schneider, Hans-Joachim Hahn.
Ingo Cornilsis Professor of German at the University of Leeds.
Today, forty years after Timothy Leary's suggestion that hippies read Hermann Hesse while "turning on," Hesse is once again receiving attention: faced with ubiquitous materialism, war, and ecological disaster, we discover that these problems have found universal expression in the works of this master storyteller. Hesse explores perennial themes, from the simple to the transcendental. Because he knows of the awkwardness of adolescence and the pressures exerted on us to conform, his books hold special appeal for young readers and are taught widely. Yet he is equally relevant for older readers, writing about the torment of a psyche in despair, or our fear of the unknown. All these experiences are explored from the perspective of the individual self, for Hesse the repository of the divine and the sole entity to which we are accountable. This volume of new essays sheds light on his major works, including Siddhartha, Der Steppenwolf, and Das Glasperlenspiel, as well as Rosshalde, Klingsors letzter Sommer, Klein und Wagner, and the poetry. Another six essays explore Hesse's interest in psychoanalysis, music, and easternphilosophy, the development of his political views, the influence of his painting on his writing, and the relationship between Hesse and Goethe.
Contributors: Jefford Vahlbusch, Osman Durrani, Andreas Solbach, Ralph Freedman, Adrian Hsia, Stefan Hoeppner, Martin Swales, Frederick Lubich, Paul Bishop, Olaf Berwald, Kamakshi Murti, Marco Schickling, Volker Michels, Godela Weiss-Sussex, C. Immo Schneider, Hans-Joachim Hahn.
Ingo Cornilsis Professor of German at the University of Leeds.
Reviews / Votes
The contributions are based on a good knowledge of the earlier research and yet go beyond it . . . . This new and stimulating Companion can take its rightful place among the other Hesse companions that have arisen in recent years. * ARBITRIUM * The composition of the volume provides a well-rounded picture of the author and his work and gains above all by virtue of the synthesis of well-known facts and completely new approaches and perspective. * LITERATURKRITIK.DE * [T]he authors . . . represent the elite of 21st-century Hesse criticism...[T]his outstanding collection . . . treats all of Hesse's major works, his early work, his most popular work, and his minor works. Recommended. * CHOICE * [O]utstandingly edited. . . . [T]he book does justice to Hesse's transcultural work . . . [It] asks questions, answers them, opens new perspectives, and emphasizes and newly formulates well-known positions: different opinions are allowed. Not only in terms of content but in terms of language this (English-language) volume opens itself to an international readership. * MONATSHEFTE *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Columbia, MD
United States
Publishing group
Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
8 b/w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
726 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-57113-581-0 (9781571135810)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Ingo Cornils
A Companion to the Works of Hermann Hesse
Book
11/2009
Camden House Inc
€112.85
Article exhausted; check different version
Ingo Cornils
A Companion to the Works of Hermann Hesse
E-Book
11/2009
1st Edition
De Gruyter
€48.99
Available for download
Persons
INGO CORNILS is Professor of German Studies at the University of Leeds. INGO CORNILS is Professor of German Studies at the University of Leeds. OLAF BERWALD is Department Chair of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures and Professor of German at Middle Tennessee State University. Paul Bishop is Professor of German and Head of Department of German at the University of Glasgow.