Author Description

The anthology combines poems and images inspired by the cityscape of Bamberg. Tara Williams, final year student of German at the University of Oxford, wrote a chronicle of her Year Abroad 2023/24 in which she traced works of E.T.A. Hoffmann based in the city. The title illustration which turns up throughout the collection is the figure of 'Äpfelweibla' (old woman selling apples) in the form of the doorknocker from 'Der goldene Topf'. The other referenced work is 'Der Sandmann'. The collection has two parts, the first based on 'Der Sandmann' and comprising the poems: The Sandman. - Black Beetles (Eyes). - On Jenja (Olympia). - (Eye)Glass. Part Two is based on 'Der goldene Topf' and features the poems: Finding the Apfelweibla. - On Glass and Bottles (Encased in Glass Vials). - Sonnet (Snakes in Trees). - In Transit (Atlantis) The collection was made possible by a prize financed by the Lidl UK Foundation for creative practice during the Year Abroad. The volume is part of a series sponsored by the Taylor Institution Library in which writers-in-residence and creative writing by Oxford Modern Languages students is published, following on from a collection of bilingual poetry by Ulrike Draesner and a collection of texts by Yoko Tawada. The series editor is Henrike Lähnemann, Professor of Medieval German Literature and Linguistics, and Year Abroad coordinator for German. The cover design was made by Emma Huber, German Subject Librarian at the Taylorian. All volumes of the Taylor Editions series are available open access as eBooks. The print edition was also funded by money from the Lidl UK Foundation.