Presentation Erich Auerbach and War Literature

ABSTRACT

The text is an introduction to the conference “Poesie et guerre” (“Poetry and War”), by Erich Auerbach (1892-1957), likely delivered in 1941 in Turkey. It highlights and seeks to demonstrate the sensitivity with wich Auerbach’s critical reflection was attuned to the transformations of the world around him. With the conciseness typical of this kind of text, the historical relationships between poetry and war are brought to light, emphasizing the uniqueness of contemporary war literature and its inscription into Auerbach’s philological project. The reader will find a transcription of the conference in its original language, French, along with a Portuguese translation of the document in this same volume of the jornal Varia História.

poetry; war; conference