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Young Uwe Johnson |
Once in the West, Johnson published Mutmassungen über Jakob (1959; Speculations About Jakob, 1963), Das dritte Buch über Achim (1961; The Third Book About Achim, 1967), shorter fiction in Karsch, und andere Prosa (1964; the novella Eine Reise wegwohin translated as An Absence, 1969), and Zwei Ansichten (1965; Two Views, 1966). All of Johnson's work was experimental: the narrative abruptly shifts from one consciousness or place to another; words assume different meanings when used by different characters; objects and events are described with intricate exactness, as if to emphasize their constancy against the mutability of emotions and reminiscences. In the tetralogy Jahrestage. Aus dem Leben von Gesine Cresspahl (1970-83; "Anniversaries: From the life of Gesine Cresspahl"), Johnson used a montage technique, combining newspaper clippings, notes, and narrative to describe problems in New York in the 1960s and events in German history between the 1920s and 1960s as recalled by the heroine's family.
Johnson lived in New York (1966-68), returned to West Berlin, and moved to England in 1974. Although younger than many of them, he was a member of the Gruppe 47 authors of postwar Germany. Later works included an essay on the poet Ingeborg Bachmann, Eine Reise nach Klagenfurt (1974; "A Journey to Klagenfurt"); a volume of essays, including two in English, Berliner Sachen (1975; "Berlin Affairs"); and Begleitumstände: Frankfurter Vorlesungen (1980; "Circumstances: Frankfurt Lectures").
Source
"Johnson, Uwe" Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
<http://www.eb.com:180/bol/topic