This multidisciplinary collection of readings offers new interpretations of Richard Wagner's ideological position in German history. The issues discussed range from the biographical - the reasons for Wagner's travels, his political life - to the aesthetic and ideological, regarding his re-creation of medieval Nuremberg, his representations of gender and nationality, his vocal iconography, his anti-Semitism, his vegetarian and Christian arguments, and, finally, his musical heirs.

Gerhart Hauptmann (1862-1946) is generally considered a pioneer of modern drama. He was praised by Rilke, Thomas Mann, and James Joyce among his contemporaries for his versatility, innovativeness, and realism. This Nobel Prize-winning author is here represented by three of his best-loved plays.

This collection features a cogent introduction and includes representative poems by some 60 modern poets, including Ingeborg Bachmann, Gottfried Benn, Berthold Brecht, Paul Celan, Gnnter Eich, Gnnter Grass, Georg Heym, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Franz Kafka, Gnnter Kunert, Gertrud Kolmar, Friederike Mayrcker, Rainer Maria Rilke, Nelly Sachs, and many others.

Long in preparation and in considerable demand, here are the essential poems and prose of one of the giants of 20th century world literature. Following an authoritative introduction by Reinhold Grimm, the volume includes German and English poems on facing pages.

Ranging from Hellenistic pastoral to the contemporary counterculture activities of the Greens, the essays in this volume underscore the complexity of simplicity. Whether the simple life is located in a culture's past or in its future, in a secluded corner or beyond society's boundaries, it remains a fascinating subject for discussion.