State and way forward for literary criticism | EUROtoday

“Bragging about one’s own cultural philistinism was possible as an ironic gesture, but not advisable when things got serious”: This sentence describes a distant previous and is aimed on the very current. It comes from a radio essay by the literary critic Julia Schröder, by which she just lately mirrored on the event of literary criticism in numerous media on the event of “50 years of the SWR best list” (will be heard within the ARD audio library).

It’s in regards to the always new and totally different query of whether or not and the way criticism ought to stability seriousness with leisure, however after all the extra urgent query is the place criticism nonetheless exists. Schröder notes that it has already been eradicated from the “third programs” the place it as soon as thrived, and that it’s critically threatened elsewhere. She admits that whatever the medium, the trigger is usually a necessity to economize, which is past the affect of editorial managers. But she then asks provocatively, in view of the decline in criticism, particularly e-book criticism, from the general public that has been happening for years: whether or not there may be maybe additionally a “secret schadenfreude” related to seeing members of the intimidating critics’ guild fall?

Rhetorical questions reply themselves, however one might additionally add that turning up one’s nostril at criticism as a career has lengthy been noticed in some publishers, literary homes or bookstores (to not point out social media) – and even in a supposedly goal e-book science, one remembers, for instance, the resentment towards “gatekeepers” and “ivory tower” in an essay by Gerhard Lauer in “Merkur” within the spring.

As far as tv is anxious, which is much more related as a mass medium than many declare, one might add a complementary commentary: In the ZDF cultural journal “Aspekte”, for instance, which awarded its “Aspekte Literature Prize” for the most effective prose debut of the 12 months for the forty seventh time this autumn, one has lengthy seen an avoidance of reviewer approaches, certainly of criticism typically, whereas on the identical time excessive cultural requirements are pretended and forged in stunning pictures will. This provokes the prognosis of “midcult” (Umberto Eco), which the literary scholar Moritz Baßler so convincingly made to right now’s literary world. In the “Aspekte” program on December twelfth, one might no less than see approaches to ironic criticism in a contribution by the moderator Jo Schück: In view of a joint challenge between the Bode Museum in Berlin and the Charité, by which individuals meditate within the museum with a view to be healed, he requested: “What does that have to do with museums?” Curator Maria López-Fanjul replied: “Everything. Because walking slowly through the rooms and concentrating on an object is meditation.” All proper: If it helped and this may permit extra centered, maybe even important viewing of creative works, we might name this meditation if vital.

While the sharper, ironic criticism in German-language media particularly continues to dwindle (usually accompanied by the suggestion that it’s “not understood online”), there may be additionally an attention-grabbing complementary discovering right here – from the USA of all locations. Where the standard media that remained after a few years of clear-cutting underneath Trump admittedly have better considerations than these about literary criticism, the “Literary Hub” portal printed a cross-section of the “most scathing book reviews of 2025” in December, in German: numerous critiques. You can see that Marcel Reich-Ranicki would have loved it.

A criticism format that he helped form along with his work as literary director of this newspaper can even flip fifty subsequent 12 months: the Days of German-Language Literature in Klagenfurt. As was the case final 12 months, the availability of prize cash for the principle award, the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize, is a tremor – as a result of the 25,000 euros have thus far been supplied by town of Klagenfurt, however haven’t but been authorised for 2026 as a result of austerity measures, as “Der Standard” simply reported. Unfortunately, there may be additionally nice concern in regards to the continued existence of all the broadcast idea after the anniversary – literary criticism broadcast stay for hours on tv, radio and web for 3 days in a row, one thing that’s in all probability distinctive on this planet – and never for the primary time. And hopefully not for the final time.