Reading World Literature

Weltliteratur, Translation, Goethe, Euro-centrism

[mosesmuiruri]

Longxi, To put it clearly, world literature is not and cannot be the simple
conglomeration of all the literary works written in the world, but only
the very best works from the world’s different literatures, particularly
literary traditions that have not been well studied beyond their native
environment. That is to say, world literature still needs to establish
its canon by including great works of literature not just from the major
traditions of Western Europe, but also literary traditions in other
parts of the world as well as the “minor” or insufficiently studied
literatures in Europe and North America.

[mosesmuiruri]

I think we need to re-coin the definition of world literature as the world has changed and we can no longer define world literature with the same definition as in the past.