29^th Leukerbad International Literary Festival

Authors

Moritz Baßler

Germany

Born in 1969, Moritz Baßler is a scholar of literature and a professor of Modern German Literature at Münster University. He is also a co-founder of the journal POP—Kultur und Kritik.
Baßler studies realism, classical modernism and contemporary literature. In his essay, Der neue Midcult (The New Midcult) and the book into which he expanded it, Populärer Realismus. Vom International Style gegenwärtigen Erzählens (Popular Realism. On the International Style of Contemporary Narrative), sparked vigorous debates in the media. He claimed that contemporary literature aims primarily at being marketable even though it presents itself as high art. Its dominant stylistic element: realistic narratives that prioritize fluid reading but present little challenge on other levels.
In addition, this “popular realism” is often already in silent agreement with its target audience about what is relevant and good. Aesthetic arguments are less important than the right subjects, addressed by the right authors—namely those whose personal experience makes them plausible tellers of particular stories. The Klagenfurt jury member Philipp Tingler once called this “identity kitsch.”

Populärer Realismus. Vom International Style gegenwärtigen Erzählens. C. H. Beck 2022
Deutsche Erzählprosa 1850–1950. Eine Geschichte literarischer Verfahren. Erich Schmidt Verlag 2015
Der deutsche Pop-Roman. Die Neuen Archivisten. C. H. Beck 2002

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