A collection of essays and other texts by eleven internationally
acclaimed writers, critics and artists.
Over a decade after his death W.G. Sebald remains a major presence in
world literature. He has a devoted readership in many different
countries. This lively and accessible collection offers a series of
different illuminations on why Sebald's work continues to fascinate.
Follow Ali Smith as she gets loosed in the translation of his work.
Discover with Robert Macfarlane the arguments for and against Sebald's
reputation. Find out from Will Self why British readers might find him a
"good German". Think with John Coetzee about the recurrent psychological
crisis that haunts Sebald's imagination. These are just a few of the
many discoveries, insights, and imaginative responses that this
collection offers its readers. This is the book that readers of Sebald,
new or old, need to take with them as they journey through his work. It
speaks of and to the different experiences involved in reading Sebald,
whether responding to the relation between word and image, or the
question of what can and cannot be remembered, or the resonant character
of voice and voices, or the strange networks and connections that make
up Sebald's texts. And then there are personal memories by Tess Jaray of
working with Sebald, Tacita Dean's own version of Sebaldian
connectedness and an enigmatic memorial by Richard Long.
The book is edited and has an introduction by Jon Cook, a Professor of
Literature and Director of the Centre for Creative and Performing Arts
at the University of East Anglia, who was for a number of years a friend
and colleague of W.G. Sebald.