{"product_id":"the-stasi-poetry-circle-the-creative-writing-class-that-tried-to-win-the-cold-war-9780571331208","title":"The Stasi Poetry Circle: The Creative Writing Class that Tried to Win the Cold War","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003eIn 1982, the East German secret police trained their own writers to use poetry as a weapon against the class enemy. Journalist Philip Oltermann spent five years researching the story and uncovered lost volumes of poetry and surviving members of the Red Poet's Society. \u003c\/blockquote\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat\u003c\/strong\u003e: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLength\u003c\/strong\u003e: 224 pages\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication date\u003c\/strong\u003e: 02 February 2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher\u003c\/strong\u003e: Faber \u0026amp; Faber\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe extraordinary true story of the Stasi's poetry club: Stasiland and The Lives of Others crossed with Dead Poets Society.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEngrossing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eObserver: Remarkable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Times: Magnificent.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePhillipe Sands: Gripping.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLiterary Review: A history so outlandish and unlikely that you feel it must be true. . . . [A] grippingly well-written book.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnthony Quinn, Observer: Book of the Week.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1982, East Germany's fearsome secret police - convinced that writers were embedding subversive messages in their work - decided to train their own writers, weaponizing poetry in the struggle against the class enemy. Once a month, a group of soldiers and border guards gathered in a heavily guarded military compound in East Berlin for meetings to learn how to write lyrical verse.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJournalist Philip Oltermann spent five years rifling through Stasi files, digging out lost volumes of poetry and tracking down surviving members of this Red poet's society, to illustrate the little-known story in which spies turned poets and poets spies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWeight\u003c\/strong\u003e: 189g\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimension\u003c\/strong\u003e: 198 x 129 x 13 (mm)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN-13\u003c\/strong\u003e: 9780571331208\u003cbr\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eEdition number\u003c\/strong\u003e: Main\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Philip Oltermann","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":44097020887290,"sku":"9780571331208","price":9.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0522\/4297\/2845\/products\/1675434990610_book.jpg?v=1676192750","url":"https:\/\/shulphink.com\/products\/the-stasi-poetry-circle-the-creative-writing-class-that-tried-to-win-the-cold-war-9780571331208","provider":"Shulph Ink","version":"1.0","type":"link"}