All Quiet on the Western Front
Erich Maria Remarque’s classic novel of World War I, All Quiet on the Western Front, was an international sensation. Celebrated by countless readers for its moving depiction of the traumas suffered and the camaraderie shared in the trenches, the work also sparked controversy on all sides of the political spectrum, in which Remarque, now a…
Branded
When Branded: A Diary was published in Berlin in 1920, Emmy Hennings was called the most important woman writer of her day. Her autobiographical novel offers a sharp critique of patriarchy and the social injustices of the last decade of the German Empire, infused with a mysticism that celebrates sexual love as a spiritual gift…
An ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ for the Twenty-First Century
At the 7 Nov 2024 book launch celebrating the publication of her new edition, Katharina Rout spoke about All Quiet on the Western Front to an audience of about 45 people at The Attic in the historic railway station building in Nanaimo, Vancouver Island. Excerpts from her wide-ranging address are presented here. On language, and…
Their Bodies Were the Battlefield: War, Women’s Work, and Translating Branded
Katharina Rout When I first read Emmy Hennings’s Branded, I was struck by its intimacy: a woman who talks with breathtaking honesty about her poverty, despair, and sexual exploitation. It was startling to hear her tell her story with so much wit, humor, and irony, but also to watch her struggle with religious beliefs so…