Nelly Sachs, Und niemand weiss weiter [And no one knows how to go on]

Jennifer Hoyer (University of Arkansas)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1957

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poem collection

Resources

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Und niemand weiss weiter

[

And no one knows how to go on

, 1957], the first of Nelly Sachs' poetic collections to be published in West Germany, is a remarkably heterogeneous collection of poems. It treats many of the themes that extend through most of Sachs' work – among them a critical examination of time, memory, and semantics –but the reference systems in this volume have their roots in a wider variety of topics, ranging from theories of artistic production, Hassidic mysticism and fairy tales, to Shakespeare, biblical figures, music, anesthesia, and current events. Its chaotic range reflects the sentiment of the title, “and no one knows how to go on”.

Sachs composed the poems for Und niemand weiss weiter between approximately 1952 and 1957, which is clear from correspondence in

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1212 words

Citation: Hoyer, Jennifer. "Und niemand weiss weiter". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 October 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=20756, accessed 24 April 2024.]

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