Poetry in pursuit of truth
Georgia: a literary biography 1988-2018
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Georgia can look back on 1,500 years of the written word, with Rustaveli’s epos ‘The Knight in the Panther’s Skin’ being the first literary work of a secular nature in the early 13th century. However, writers found it almost impossible to liberate themselves from their proximity to those in power – even as their critics. It was only from the end of the 1980s that authors of the new Georgian literature succeeded in doing so. At the same time, they too focussed on central themes of social upheaval, such as war and violence, women breaking free of their traditionally assigned role, the new poverty and the new power of the church. Bound to a language that is spoken by only around four million people, the number of potential readers of Georgian literature remains small. However, it includes works that can without doubt be classified as great literature.
(Osteuropa 7/2018, pp. 79–102)