Book contents
- W.G. Sebald in Context
- W.G. Sebald in Context
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Note on Text
- Chronology
- Abbreviations
- Works by W.G. Sebald
- Part I Biographical Aspects
- Part II The Literary Works
- Part III Themes and Influences
- Part IV Reception and Legacy
- Chapter 31 Sebald Scholarship
- Chapter 32 Sebald in Translation
- Chapter 33 The Sebaldian
- Chapter 34 Film
- Chapter 35 Pop Music
- Chapter 36 Literary Prizes
- Chapter 37 Visual Arts and Exhibitions
- Chapter 38 The Cult of Sebald
- Further Reading
- Index
Chapter 38 - The Cult of Sebald
from Part IV - Reception and Legacy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 August 2023
- W.G. Sebald in Context
- W.G. Sebald in Context
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Note on Text
- Chronology
- Abbreviations
- Works by W.G. Sebald
- Part I Biographical Aspects
- Part II The Literary Works
- Part III Themes and Influences
- Part IV Reception and Legacy
- Chapter 31 Sebald Scholarship
- Chapter 32 Sebald in Translation
- Chapter 33 The Sebaldian
- Chapter 34 Film
- Chapter 35 Pop Music
- Chapter 36 Literary Prizes
- Chapter 37 Visual Arts and Exhibitions
- Chapter 38 The Cult of Sebald
- Further Reading
- Index
Summary
At the time of Sebald’s death in December 2001, a cult of all things “Sebaldian” was already emerging among his Anglo-American readership in particular. Since then, his consecration has reached almost hagiographic heights. His reticence in interviews and his reluctance to participate in the promotional circus of literary publishing amplified his posthumous apotheosis. The timing of his death after the release of the English translation of Austerlitz led to his rise beyond art and academia to cult author status. To many readers and even non-readers of his work, Sebald constituted a messianic exemplum of the “good German” and the “prime speaker of the Holocaust”, as well as a model proponent of the nature writing genre. This led to the creation of touristic walking routes that followed in the footsteps of his novels’ narrators, as well as social media reading groups, engendering further abstractions and misconceptions. Parodic articles emulating his style and overblown tributes only fuelled the cult’s fire. The suddenness of Sebald’s rise from obscurity to international stardom late in life, along with his unexpected demise merely half a decade later, ensure his cult status lives on.
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- W. G. Sebald in Context , pp. 340 - 348Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023