Herta Müller

"An ethnic German born in the Romanian Banat, Herta Mller, who left Romania for West Berlin in 1987, is among the leading voices in contemporary German literature. This volume is both an excel- lent introduction to her work and a resource for the specialist reader. It contains ten previously unpublished poems by Mller and an interview in which the author reflects on some of her central themes, followed by six essays which give a broad-ranging insight into her work. Mller is obviously not concerned with fashionable themes or theoretical positions. More important to her are the development of a concept of morality as a tool of resistance, and of a narrative strategy which enables her to expose and subvert political repression. Her use of metaphor and metonymy, her insistent focus on detail, her use of memory and myth are dealt with as functions of her political and narrative strategies (Haines, von Hoff, Midgley, Schmidt, White). What enriches the reading of Mller''s texts in this volume are references to contemporaries from other cultures, including Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, and, most explicitly, Libuse Monikovii (Littler). Mller thus emerges as both a "local" and a thoroughly international voice." -Forum for Modern Language Studies