Nicolas Born resisted all attempts to classify him, whether as a political writer, a representative of the so-called Neue Innerlichkeit (»New Inwardness«), a poet of nature, or pop writer.
Letters he exchanged with some of his closest friends document a network of common engagement, interest in the work of fellow writers, and friendships a network defined by the 1960s and `70s. We also learn of political disagreements, personal literary developments of that time, and the desire of the individual for boundaries.
Through letters to former teachers, friends, colleagues and family members, a portrait rich in perspectives appears, revealing Born`s ideas about writing, his criteria concerning literature, and his views of society. This collection of letters pays witness to the strong independence of his thought, in which Born was often far ahead of his time.
Included are letters to Johannes Bobrowski, Rolf-Dieter Brinkmann, Hugo Dittberner, Günter Grass, Peter Handke, Helmut Heißenbüttel, Walter Höllerer, Uwe Johnson, Alfred Kolleritsch, Michael Krüger, Reinhard Lettau, Ernst Meister, Rainer Maria Ledig Rowohlt, Hans Joachim Schädlich, Dieter Wellershoff, and others.
