Albert Bloch: Caricaturist, Social Critic, and Translator of Karl Kraus (Studies in Austrian Literature, Culture, and Thought)

This is the first and only comprehensive monograph on Albert Bloch that provides a balanced approach to Bloch's life and work as well as taking into account Karl Kraus's pervasive influence. It presents original sources from archives and libraries important for tracing the stages of Bloch's life and development as caricaturist, painter, journalist, essayist, critic and first authorized translator of Kraus's poetry. Theodor Haecker praised Bloch's flawless renderings of Kraus's poetry into English as 'beautiful and noble' reflecting his 'great love' of Kraus's work. In his correspondence with Kraus published in 'Die Fackel' Bloch recognizes Kraus's goal of better social and political conditions on the basis of purified language. Bloch supported Kraus in the latter's crusade against the social and political evils of poor journalism. After Kraus's death Bloch played a decisive role in keeping alive Kraus's spiritual legacy and helped preserve Kraus's unpublished writings.