A Companion to the Works of Elias Canetti

The Bulgarian-born scholar and author Elias Canetti was one of the most astute witnesses and analysts of the mass movements and wars of the first half of the 20th century. Born a Sephardic Jew and raised at first in the Bulgarian and Ladino languages he chose to write in German. He was awarded the 1981 Nobel Prize in Literature for his oeuvre which includes dramas essays diaries aphorisms the novel Die Blendung (Auto-da-Fé) and the long interdisciplinary treatise Masse und Macht (Crowds and Power). These works express Canetti's thought-provoking ideas on culture and the human psyche with special focus on the phenomena of power conflict and survival. Canetti's masterful prose his linguistic innovations his brilliant satires and conceits continue to fascinate scholars and general readers alike; his challenging genre-bending writings merge theory and literature essay and diary entry. This Companion volume contains original essays by renowned scholars from around the world who examine Canetti's writing and thought in the context of pre- and post-fascist Europe providing a comprehensive scholarly introduction. ~~~~ CONTRIBUTORS: William C. Donahue Anne Fuchs Hans Reiss Julian Preece Wolfgang Mieder Sigurd P. Scheichel Helga Kraft Harriet Murphy Irene S. Di Maio Ritchie Robertson Johannes G. Pankau Dagmar C.G. Lorenz Penka Angelova and Svoboda A. Dimitrova Michael Mack. ~~~~ DAGMAR C. G. LORENZ is Professor of Germanic Studies at the University of Illinois-Chicago.