POETRY IN A PROVISIONAL STATE: THE AUSTRIAN LYRIC, 1945-1955

"This book comprises of a detailed and original study of the wealth of poetry produced in Austria between the demise of the Third Reich and Austria's re-attainment of sovereignty in 1955. It offers a distinctive contribution to the topic of literature and war, showing how, in the case of Austria, rejection of war-guilt after WWII produced a marked reluctance to treat the theme of war in literature. The author also demonstrates the theoretical problems for modern poetry in the handling of historical events." "Drawing on material not easily available today, Poetry in a Provisional State: The Austrian Lyric 1945-1955 examines the prolific amount of neglected or unstudied poetry written after 1945 as Austrians engaged with, or evaded, the experience of life under Hitler. Bushnell offers an original contribution to our understanding of Austrian poetry and the problematic reworking of an Austrian literary identity."--Jacket.