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The Bars of Atlantis: Selected Essays
This landmark collection of essays by one of the world's greatest living authors makes Durs Grünbein's wide-ranging and multifaceted prose available in English for the first time, and is a welcome complement to Ashes for Breakfast , his first book-length collection of poetry in English.
Covering two decades, The Bars of Atlantis unfurls the entire breadth and depth of Grünbein's essayistic genius. Memoiristic and autobiographical pieces that introduce Grünbein, the man and the author, and tell the story of the making of a poet and thinker toward the end of a century marked by global political strife, unprecedented human suffering, long decades of totalitarian rule, and, in its final quarter, the dawn of a new, post–Cold War world order; essays that focus on Grünbein's major philosophical and aesthetic concerns, such as the intersection of art and science, literature and biology; extended reflections on the existential, cultural, political, and ethical import of the poet's craft in the contemporary world; and, finally, explorations of the meaning of classical antiquity for the present―all contribute to making.
Covering two decades, The Bars of Atlantis unfurls the entire breadth and depth of Grünbein's essayistic genius. Memoiristic and autobiographical pieces that introduce Grünbein, the man and the author, and tell the story of the making of a poet and thinker toward the end of a century marked by global political strife, unprecedented human suffering, long decades of totalitarian rule, and, in its final quarter, the dawn of a new, post–Cold War world order; essays that focus on Grünbein's major philosophical and aesthetic concerns, such as the intersection of art and science, literature and biology; extended reflections on the existential, cultural, political, and ethical import of the poet's craft in the contemporary world; and, finally, explorations of the meaning of classical antiquity for the present―all contribute to making.
- GenresEssaysGerman Literature
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
1 person is currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Durs Grünbein
99 books22 followersDurs Grünbein is a German poet, essayist and translator living in Berlin since 1985.
Grünbein is hailed as the most significant and successful poet to emerge from the former East Germany, and his work has been awarded many major German literary prizes, including the highest, the Georg-Büchner-Preis, which he won in 1995. That same year, he also won the Peter Huchel Prize for Poetry.
In 2005, he held the position of Max Kade Distinguished Visiting Professor at Dartmouth College.
In 2006, Grünbein was elected by the academy of fine arts at Düsseldorf to the first chair of poetry (poetics and artistic aesthetics) at any German university or academy. Grünbein is a regular contributor to Frau und Hund - Zeitschrift für kursives Denken, edited by the academy's rector, the painter Markus Lüpertz.
Grünbein has also published several essay collections and new translations of plays from antiquity, among them Aeschylus' The Persians, and Seneca's Thyestes. His work, which also includes contributions to catalogues and a libretto for opera, has been translated into many languages.
Grünbein is hailed as the most significant and successful poet to emerge from the former East Germany, and his work has been awarded many major German literary prizes, including the highest, the Georg-Büchner-Preis, which he won in 1995. That same year, he also won the Peter Huchel Prize for Poetry.
In 2005, he held the position of Max Kade Distinguished Visiting Professor at Dartmouth College.
In 2006, Grünbein was elected by the academy of fine arts at Düsseldorf to the first chair of poetry (poetics and artistic aesthetics) at any German university or academy. Grünbein is a regular contributor to Frau und Hund - Zeitschrift für kursives Denken, edited by the academy's rector, the painter Markus Lüpertz.
Grünbein has also published several essay collections and new translations of plays from antiquity, among them Aeschylus' The Persians, and Seneca's Thyestes. His work, which also includes contributions to catalogues and a libretto for opera, has been translated into many languages.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 11, 2010
Not for the faint of heart. Reading these dense, obscure essays feels like wading through someone's psyche. And that's just weird.
August 3, 2025
Chi non ha mai sognato di prendere un caffé nei bar di Atlantide? Esattamente come un pesce che riemerge dal fondale, l'autore esorta il lettore a compiere lo stesso processo di immersione-emersione nei ricordi e nella sua coscienza.
January 3, 2010
Ich weiß nicht genau, um was es hier geht, aber es ist faszinierend.
January 5, 2013
Interesting topics and a great writer, but admittedly I bogged down several times and the essays are a bit hard to follow.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews