Kałążny German Literature and the Wende of 1989/90. The Case of Durs Grünbein
German Literature and the Wende of 1989/90. The Case of Durs Grünbein

Summary/Abstract: Durs Grünbein, born 1962 in Dresden, is one of the most recognizable German poets and essayists after the German reunification. His numerous collections of poetry and prose were translated into many languages, e.g. into English, French, Russian, Spanish, Japanese and Polish. The article presents the first stage of his career since his debut in 1988 until the end of the 90s against the background of the decomposition of the existing literary landscape in the unified Germany. The main focus of the paper is put on the development of the writing style and the aesthetic views of Grünbein, as well as the topics that were predominant in his early work, such as the intersection of literature and science and the poetic elaboration of the existential experience in the GDR. Traditions of European modernity and antiquity, the notion regarding the autonomy and the non-engagement of poetry, as well as the fragmentary nature of the experiencing of reality formed the basis of his poetic self-image at that time, which essentially remained unchanged in the following decades.

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