Gesellige Einsamkeit

Friedhelm Kemp was an important translator, a great publisher and mediator of German literature, and a critic of elegant sovereignty, who always had surprising connections with surprising insights. The compilation of essays, appraisals, interpretations and reviews by Joachim Kalka gives an impression of Kemp's diverse interests, his comprehensive knowledge and his subtle poetic prowess, to which his persistent reflection on questions of translation belongs. The focus is on the selection in the European Baroque, the Goethe period and, above all, the poetry of classical modernism in France and Germany. It shows Kemp's high critical competency, his watchfulness of curiosity in passing through various literary landscapes, and his admirable ability to combine passion of judgment and elegance of form.