The Prague Circle: Franz Kafka, Egon Erwin Kisch, Max Brod, Franz Werfel and Paul Kornfeld, and Their Legacies

Stephen James Shearier

The Prague Circle: Franz Kafka, Egon Erwin Kisch, Max Brod, Franz Werfel and Paul Kornfeld, and Their Legacies
Format
Hardback
Publisher
Academica Press
Country
United States
Published
31 March 2022
Pages
272
ISBN
9781680537765

The Prague Circle: Franz Kafka, Egon Erwin Kisch, Max Brod, Franz Werfel and Paul Kornfeld, and Their Legacies

Stephen James Shearier

A group of mostly Jewish German-speaking writers, the Prague Circle included some of the most significant figures in modern Western literature. Its core members, Franz Kafka, Max Brod, Franz Werfel, Paul Kornfeld, and Egon Erwin Kisch, are renowned for their seminal dramas, lyric poetry, novels, short stories, and essays on aesthetics. The writers of the Prague Circle were bound together not by a common perspective or a particular ideology, but by shared experiences and interests. From their vantage point in the Bohemian capital during the early decades of the twentieth century, they witnessed first-hand the collapse of the familiar and predictable, if not entirely comfortable, monarchical old order and the ascent of an anxious and uncertain modern era that led inexorably to fascism, militarization, and war. In order to deal with their new challenges, they considered strategies as diverse and oppositional as the members of the Prague Circle themselves. Their responses were shaped to various degrees by Catholicism, Zionism, expressionism, activism, anti-activism, international solidarity with the working class, and transcendence. Stephen Shearier explores how these authors aligned themselves on the spectrum of the Activism Debate, which preceded the much studied Expressionist Debate by a generation. This study examines the critical reception of these influential literary figures to determine how their legacies have been shaped.

This item is not currently in-stock. It can be ordered online and is expected to ship in approx 2 weeks

Our stock data is updated periodically, and availability may change throughout the day for in-demand items. Please call the relevant shop for the most current stock information. Prices are subject to change without notice.

Sign in or become a Readings Member to add this title to a wishlist.