This collection of twelve studies of some of the leading Austrian writers of today, such as Elfriede Jelinek, Peter Handke and Thomas Bernhard, is ample evidence of a distinctive Austrian literary culture, even if its definition proves something of a chimaera. But are these writers high priests, enthroned by the established culture, or desecrators, angrily rejecting it? Some of the contributors to this volume unflinchingly assign their authors to one end of this spectrum or another, while others refuse even to entertain such a provocative schematization. 'The essays in this collection offer a good impression of the formal and thematic range of contemporary Austrian literature and include substantial pieces on Handke, Bernhard, Jelinek, Fried and Mitgutsch, while other contributions reveal the special quality of more idiosyncratic and marginal figures. Editors and contributors wisely avoid attempting to deduce from this variety a distinctive Austrian quality common to these authors, but they are where appropriate aware of the provocation some of them represent in an Austrian context' (Forum for Modern Language Studies).

Volume 13 deals with the interaction of music and politics, considering a broad range of genres, authors, composers, and artists in Germany since the nineteenth century. A particularly iconic image of German Reunification is that of Mstislav Rostropovich playing from J. S. Bach's cello suites in front of the Berlin Wall on November 11, 1989. Thirty years on, it is timely to reconsider the cross-fertilization of music and politics within the German-speaking context. Frequently employed as a motivational force, a propaganda tool, or even a weapon, music can imbue a sense of identity and belonging, triggering both comforting and disturbing memories. Playing a key role in the formation of Heimat and "Germanness," it serves ideological, nationalistic, and propagandistic purposes conveying political messages and swaying public opinion. This volume brings together essays by historians, literary scholars, and musicologists on topics concerning the increasing politicization of music, especially since the nineteenth century. They cover a broad spectrum of genres, musicians, and thinkers, discussing the interplay of music and politics in "classical" and popular music: from the rediscovery and repurposing of Martin Luther in nineteenth-century Germany to the exploitation of music during the Third Reich, from the performative politics of German punk and pop music to the influence of the events of 1988/89 on operatic productions in the former GDR - up to the relevance of Ernst Bloch in our contemporary post-truth society.