Art in the Age of Imperialism and Socialism: Essays Poems Prose and a Playlet

“Peter Hacks is that rare combination: irreverent and thoughtful caustic and insightful. And now with this book no longer a secret hidden from the world.” – Vijay Prashad | Who was Peter Hacks? A German playwright who wrote poetry essays and prose including several works for children. Hacks is recognised as one of the most important writers of the German Democratic Republic. In fact he was at times one of the most performed playwrights not only in East but also in West Germany. A writer who as a young man shortly after the Second World War chose to migrate from West to East Germany – i.e. from a capitalist to a socialist society – and held to this choice even after the German Democratic Republic was incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany and ceased to exist. The title of this anthology points to the major factors that define his work aesthetically and politically. In both aesthetics and politics he stood apart from the general tendencies of his time achieving renown and a good many prizes with (and sometimes despite) his sharp-tongued witty and utterly delightful writing.