Das Treffen in Telgte

Treffen in Telgte, Das, a story by G. Grass, published in 1979. Dedicated to H. W. Richter, it commemorates Richter's contribution to the renewal of the German language and literature following the 1939-45 War in an ingenious travesty of a meeting of Gruppe 47. In a style rich in literary allusion, it depicts a meeting in 1647 of baroque writers, publishers, and critics at an inn in Telgte near Münster when peace negotiations ending the Thirty Years War (see Dreissigjähriger Krieg) are taking place, to read and discuss their work under the good-humoured guidance of their convener Simon Dach. But the divisions are too deep for them to unite in the spirit of peace and tolerance which Dach envisages as the foundation of a new, purified national language and literature; the final feast of fish creates only the illusion of a successful meeting. Dach has not yet finished his warm, encouraging farewell speech when the inn goes up in flames and the group disperses in haste, never to gather again. Parallels between the two historical periods include the problems motivating Richter (see also Kahlschlag) which resemble the endeavours of societies like the Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, some of whose members function in the story. Grass acknowledges the influence of the ‘Simplicianische Schriften’ by Grimmelshausen by modelling the character of the young Gelnhausen on Simplicissimus and that of the colourful Libuschka on Courasche. A special role is given to the composer Heinrich Schütz, a man of upright humanity and seriousness of purpose who explores the relationship between language and music; he quietly departs before the feast.

The story, which resumes a theme of the fourth section of Der Butt in which the young Gryphius meets Opitz, is an outstanding example of contemporary approaches to historical fiction. The translation by R. Manheim, The Meeting in Telgte (1981), appeared with Notes and an Afterword by L. W. Forster.