Postirony

What is 'postirony'? Foremost, it is a response to the ironic zeitgeist. Moreover, it is the key to understanding a specific form of literature. The contemporary reader is familiar with and – unfortunately – used to postmodernism's ironic, self-reflexive metafiction. Authors like David Foster Wallace and Dave Eggers chose a different path: Despite the reign of contemporary irony, they strive to reach the reader on a level beyond, cognitively as well as emotionally – they claim to be sincere and true. Focusing largely on nonfiction by said authors, Lukas Hoffmann explores the means the texts use to achieve something new – namely, a new form of sincerity.

Lukas Hoffmann (PhD) is head of studies and teaches narratology at the Academy of Performing Arts BW. His research interests include contemporary literature, narrative ethics, reader-response criticism, and post-theory.