Divan-Variationen für das einundzwanzigste Jahrhundert: Thomas Lehrs September und Michael Kleebergs Der Idiot des 21. Jahrhunderts

Abstract

ABSTRACT Thomas Lehrs September: Fata Morgana (2015) and Michael Kleebergs Der Idiot des 21. Jahrhunderts: Ein Divan (2018) productively engage with Goethe’s West-östlicher Divan. Both novels, which were published eight years apart, respond increasingly indirectly to 9/11, its premises and consequences. This article draws on Goethe’s Divan and his thoughts on world literature in order to analyse how the novels conceptualize complex cultural and political connections in a time in which global and planetary contexts are constantly changing.