Heinrich Heine and the World Literary Map: Redressing the Canon
Author: Azade Seyhan
Publication Type: Book
Abstract: This book provides a key reassessment of the German poet-philosopher Heine's literary status and argues for his inclusion in the Canon of World Literature. It examines a cross-section of Heine's work in the light of this debate and focuses on the impact of national traumas, exile, belonging, exclusion, and censorship, comparing his poetry and prose to those of major modern writers, such as Pablo Neruda, Nazım Hikmet, Walter Benjamin, and others, who have been persecuted and exiled yet resisted oppression and silencing with their art. At a time when a premium is placed on the value of world and transnational literatures, Heine emerges once again as a writer ahead of his time and of timeless appeal.