Germanic Literature & Cinema

An exhaustive lexicon covering literature and writers from all German-speaking countries and regions. Articles provide bibliographic information as well as small bibliographies of primary and secondary sources.

Edited by Matthias Konzett.
Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000. 2 volumes.
Comprehensive articles covering authors, works, movement, and periods of German literature and related subjects. Entries are accompanied by brief bibliographies. Includes general and title indexes.

Also available in Print at the Kelly Library

Edited by John Sandford.
London; NY: Routledge, 1999.
Sandford's encyclopedia is useful to researchers not only because of its extensive articles on contemporary German authors and literature, but because of its coverage the issues, politics, and policies that influence German writers and their writings. The focus is on Germany, but subjects related to Austria and Switzerland are also studied. Includes bibliographical references and index.
[For print version locations see UofT Catalogue]

Edited by Nicholas Saul. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
This book introduces the phenomenon of German Romanticism, the proliferation of German literature, music, philosophy, and art from the late 18th through the early 19th Centuries. German quotations are translated. The volume includes brief biographies, along with bibliographies of primary and secondary sources.

Also available in Print at the Kelly Library

By R. Furness and M. Humble.
2nd edition. London; New York: Routledge, 1997.
Brief bio-bibliographic articles on authors from the eastern and western parts of Germany as well as Austria and Switzerland. No index.
[For print version locations see UofT Catalogue]

Edited by Graham Bartram and Philip Payne. Cambridge University Press, Proquest, 2004.
This work introduces the development of the German novel through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Includes a chronology and guide to further reading.

Also available in Print at the Kelly Library

A well-organized directory of German language and literature links from the German studies department of the Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. It is organized by category such as institutions, literary periods, digital texts, and literature archives. German only.

By Eda Sagarra and Peter Skrine.
Oxford: Cambridge, Massachusetts: Blackwell, 1997.
The articles in this companion look at individuals and topics from all German-speaking regions of Europe. They range from brief biographical sketches to in-depth analyses of subjects related to German literature. Includes index and maps.

By Henry and Mary Garland.
3rd edition. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
The Oxford Companion provides brief information on the literature of all German-speaking countries written between the 700s and 1990s. The alphabetically arranged entries cover authors, their writings, historical and cultural background, movements, and literary terminology.

By Harald Fricke, Klaus Grubmller, and Jan-Dirk Mller. Edited by Klaus Weimar.
Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1997-2003. 3 volumes.
This Encyclopedia is the standard work on German language and literature. With entries on genres (e.g. poetry), methodology (e.g. hermeneutics) and literary theory (e.g. narrative perspective), the Reallexikon covers both etymology and subject matter, as well as providing lengthy bibliographies after each article.

Edited by F. Eigler and S. Kord.
Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1997.
A feminist perspective on the major figures, titles, techniques, and movements of German literature. The brief bibliographies following the articles and the extensive use of cross references makes it easy to expand on topic and find related materials. Includes index.

By W. von Einsiedel and G. Woerner.
Zürich: Kindler, 1965-1972. 7 volumes.
An encyclopedia on world literature with excellent coverage of German writers and writings. Entries discuss authors and including brief histories of the works, plot summaries, and bibliographies. Vol. 7 provides overview essays on national literatures. Includes bibliographies.