Nachhall

The poems “Nachhall” of Rolf K. Ligniez, here presented for the first time to a wider audience, are part of the tradition of escapist literature in Germany in the political dark years between 1933 and 1945. However the label “escapist” is rather vague and more coined to the socio-political circumstances. In fact we can detect in Ligniez’ poetry elements of (neo-)romanticism and petrarchism which refer clearly to literary trends at the beginning of the century and further back in the 19th century. Besides this edition is also an attempt to reconstruct the life of the rather unknown writer Ligniez. With the support of the Literaturarchiv Marbach it was possible to present for the first time a letter of Ligniez to Max Kommerell, who was not only one of Ligniez’ professors at university, but also his role model as far as cultural and especially literary life is concerned. Kommerell, once secretary of Stefan George, and member of the famous George-circle, was one of those who tried to combine scientific research and career with literary production, always zealous to pass the fascination for literature to the next generation. Ligniez was one of his successors, unable to unfold the same productivity due to his early death in war.