Short description:

The invention of the locomotive changed landscapes, cityscapes, social relations, sensibilities prophesied by Hans Christian Andersen it also made huge impact on literature: on genres, themes, style. This book is about this commotion, this literary locomotion as it has been represented in Danish literature.

Long description:

The invention of the locomotive changed landscapes, cityscapes, social relations, sensibilities prophesied by Hans Christian Andersen it also made huge impact on literature: on genres, themes, style. This book is about this commotion, this literary locomotion as it has been represented in Danish literature.

The book explores the movements between text and context, and the interplay between literature and social history. Through the prism of the railway, the book provides an overview of Danish literary history, from writers such as S?ren Kierkegaard, Georg Brandes, Henrik Pontoppidan, Johannes V. Jensen, Tove Ditlevsen, Peter H?eg. The locomotive of history is a well-known metaphor, but a historical reading of these writers also show the impact of history on this metaphor, from something extraordinary to something more ordinary. Hans Christian Andersen wrote about meeting God face-to-face on the railway. The experience of the modern commuter is closer to what Georges Perec calls the infraordinary. As reflected in the work of Peter H?eg, however, the railway also figures in the intense contemporary debates on decolonizing. The book draws on theoretical insights expressed in concepts such as chronotope, character and literary speed.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars in literature studies, history, transport and mobility studies, human geography and urban studies.

Table of Contents:

Introduction i. The poetry of railways ii. A survey of sources iii. Denmark ? and Denmark abroad  1. Methods and Theories i. The Concepts of Locus, Motive, Chronotope ii. The Locomotive as a Sign of the Times iii. Plots and Pace iv. Railway-Acquaintances and Characterization 2. The Golden Age Turns into Iron i. Face to Face with God ? Hans Christian Andersen ii. Railways and Levelling ? S?ren Kierkegaard iii. The Opening of the Railway from Copenhagen to Roskilde 3. The Modern Breakthrough i. The Locomotive of the Modern Breakthrough ? Georg Brandes ii. The Railway Issue ? Vilhelm Tops?e iii. Now Tommy! ? Holger Drachmann iv. As Trains Pass By ? Herman Bang v. Transforming Denmark ? Henrik Pontoppidan 4. Railway Architecture i. The Central Station of Copenhagen ii. The Railway Town 5. Futures and Futurists i. The Poetry of Traffic ? Johannes Buchholz ii. The Shock of the New ? Johannes V. Jensen iii. Danes and Trains in Siberia ? Aage Madelung iv. Beautiful as a Bombarded Railway Station ? Tom Kristensen 6. The Little Man and the Big Railway i. The Costs of Advancing Civilization ? Jacob Paludan ii. Lightning Trains ? Knud S?nderby iii. A Little Man Sits in an S-Train ? Mogens Klitgaard 7. Trains of Life and Death i. Against Conformism ? Klaus Rifbjerg ii. Rails and Snails ? Peter Seeberg iii. The Train of Death ? Poul Vad iv. S-Train Philosophers ? Sven Holm and Arne Herl?v Petersen v. Railway and Revolution ? Inge Eriksen 8. Rock ?n? Rail i. From Station to Station ii. Melancholy Meditations ? S?ren Ulrik Thomsen 9. The World on Tracks i. The Fall of the Wall ? Jens Christian Gr?ndahl ii. Seeing the World Begin ? Carsten Jensen iii. Decolonizing as Derailing ? Peter H?eg 10. Commuters i. Rail Denmark ? Peder Frederik Jensen ii. He Knows the Others by Their Appearance ? Simon Fruelund iii. I Quite Like Trains ? Helle Helle iv. New Passengers ? Tine H?eg 11.Destinations and Un-Destinations