Anton Kuh: Monograph

Although Anton Kuh (Vienna 1890New York 1941), in his time one of the most renowned journalists in the German-speaking area, was "rediscovered" in the 1980ies after having been fallen in oblivion, his outstanding oeuvre is flagrantly lacking attention in the academic field (except for a handful of papers on Mr. Kuh`s relations to Franz Kafka and his provocative analysis of modern Jewry). Although Mr. Kuh tends to be regarded as a "Kaffeehausliterat", this is a misleading label, considering the fierce nature of his social criticism and his relentless disapproval of chauvinistic mentalities prevalent in his day. It should be clear that Mr. Kuh`s accomplishments cannot be reduced to his current perception as a Viennese character and local hero. Far from being a local coffeehouse writer, he was an eminently political thinker as well as a fierce commentator, feuilleton writer and extempore speaker. As such, he contributed very actively to the literary, political and social life of his day. His activities were by no means confined to the Vienna and Prague settings of the monarchy and interwar period. They reached beyond that, leaving a significant mark in the Weimar Republic settings of Berlin and Munich as well. Mr. Kuh`s writings count among the most outstanding newspaper contributions of the time. They were unrivalled both in content and, perhaps more important, in style. The life and work of this Jewish journalist documents a particularly sensitive era in the history of Austrian literature and literary sociology. Literary historians in this country must not ignore this. The exhaustive monograph (the first one solely dedicated to the life and work of Anton Kuh) will present the sparse biographical documents in the light of modern author concepts or author configurations (e.g. Bourdieu`s concept of "habitus"). Portraying one of the most brilliant thinkers among the ranks of Austrian journalists, the monograph is designed to shed more light on the history of Austrian literature during the interwar period with all its political, socioeconomic and cultural implicationsa publication that has been long overdue. Specifically, it will enhance our understanding of the brain drain associated with Austrians being forced into exile at the time.

Although Anton Kuh (Vienna 1890New York 1941), in his time one of the most renowned journalists in the German-speaking area, was rediscovered in the 1980ies after having been fallen in oblivion, his outstanding oeuvre was flagrantly lacking attention in the academic field, mostly because Mr. Kuh tends to be regarded as a Kaffeehausliterat. The biography which results from the project it will be published in spring 2018 (Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen) makes clear that this is a misleading label, considering the fierce nature of Kuhs social criticism and his relentless disapproval of chauvinistic mentalities prevalent in his day. It makes also clear that Mr. Kuhs accomplishments cannot be reduced to his current perception as a Viennese character and local hero. Far from being a local coffeehouse writer, he was an eminently political thinker as well as a fierce commentator, feuilleton writer and extempore speaker. As such, he contributed very actively to the literary, political and social life of his day. His activities were by no means confined to the Vienna and Prague settings of the monarchy and interwar period. They reached beyond that, leaving a significant mark in the Weimar Republic settings of Berlin and Munich as well. Mr. Kuhs writings count among the most outstanding newspaper contributions of the time. They were unrivalled both in content and, perhaps more important, in style. The exhaustive biography (the first one solely dedicated to the life and work of Anton Kuh) restores Mr. Kuhs fleeting main oeuvre, his 75 extempore speeches, thereby completing the Complete works published in 2016. The speeches form the chronological red thread of the portrait of one of the most brilliant thinkers among the ranks of Austrian journalists. The biography sheds more light on the history of Austrian literature during the interwar period with all its political, socioeconomic and cultural implications. Specifically, it will enhance our understanding of the brain drain associated with Austrians being forced into exile at the time.