Vertheidigung des Herrn Wieland gegen die Wolken, von dem Verfasser der Wolken Deutsche Litteraturdenkmale des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts, No. 121, Dritte Folge No. 1

This work plunges listeners into the heated literary arena of late‑18th‑century Germany, where the poet‑philosopher Wieland found himself besieged by a chorus of critics dubbed “the Clouds.” The author, a sharp‑tongued contemporary, mounts a vigorous defence, unpacking a maze of satirical pamphlets, newspaper reviews, and personal letters that reveal how rival camps—Goethe’s circle, the Göttingen “Nonsense singers,” and the more conservative voices—clashed over taste, morality, and the role of genius.

Beyond the polemic, the book weaves in fascinating excerpts from the now‑rare “Pandämonium Germanicum” manuscript and the “Meynungen eines Layen,” letting the original voices speak directly to the ear. Listeners will hear the wit, irony, and occasional bitterness of the period, as well as vivid portraits of figures like Lenz and Voss, whose debates shaped the era’s cultural landscape. For anyone curious about the passionate disputes that forged modern German literature, this engaging narration offers both scholarly insight and lively storytelling.