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Chinese literature

(Encyclopedia)Chinese literature, the literature of ancient and modern China. Fiction during the first years after the 1949 Communist revolution depicted the great social transformations taking place. Party leade...

Polish literature

(Encyclopedia)Polish literature, the literary works of Poland. The regaining of Polish independence in 1919 after generations of partition inspired new literary activity. The Skamander group of urban poets, inclu...

Brazilian literature

(Encyclopedia)Brazilian literature, the writings of both the European explorers of Brazil and its later inhabitants. In 1902 Euclides da Cunha wrote his masterly description of an uprising in the Brazilian northe...

Romanian literature

(Encyclopedia)Romanian literature, the literature of Romania. Until the 16th cent. most writing by Romanians was in Slavonic. In 1541 a catechism in Romanian was issued at Sibiu, and from 1560 liturgical works were...

Icelandic literature

(Encyclopedia)Icelandic literature, the literature of Iceland. For the earliest literature of Iceland, see Old Norse literature. The 20th cent. saw the rise of a more introspective writing, influenced by Nietzsch...

Welsh literature

(Encyclopedia)Welsh literature, literary writings in the Welsh language. In the 20th cent. attempts at language purification, interest in Welsh mythology, and a turning away from earlier Welsh puritanism accompan...

Swiss literature

(Encyclopedia)Swiss literature. The literature of Switzerland is written in German, French, Italian, and Romansh, with German predominating. The extensive literature in Romansh dialect (see Rhaeto-Romanic) is littl...

Norwegian literature

(Encyclopedia)Norwegian literature, early flourished as Old Norse literature. In 1380, Norway was united with Denmark, and Danish culture began a long dominance in Norway; Norwegian culture sank to its nadir in the...

Swedish literature

(Encyclopedia)Swedish literature, literary works in the Swedish language. In the early 20th cent. the fiction of Hjalmar Söderberg presaged a renewed emphasis on restraint and realism. Ludvig Nordström, Gust...

German literature

(Encyclopedia)German literature, works in the German language by German, Austrian, Austro-Hungarian, and Swiss authors, as well as by writers of German in other countries. The postwar decades saw a gradual litera...