Wandervogel literature

December 17, 2006 7:21 PM

Nicholas Mosely's Hopeful Monsters has an extensive section dealing with the German Wandervogel movement. Can you suggest any other novels (preferably in English, but auf Deutsch is also acceptable) deal with Wandervogeln or related themes?
posted by Chrischris to media & arts (2 comments total)

I doubt that this is what you're looking for but Kim Stanley Robinson's explores the idea of what he calls 'ferals' in his novels Blue Mars and Antarctica. These are basically people that turn away from cities to live nomadic lives in the wilderness.

In the groups in Blue Mars, the children actually adjuticate disputes amongst the tribe which resonates with what this website says about the Wandervogels.

At the beginning, the strict organisation and the old group leaders were in a huge contrast to the ideas lived by the Wandervogel, but spending time in the nature and giving responsibility to young men and women were aspects, they had in common.
posted by euphorb at 9:09 PM on December 17, 2006

Two obvious examples of rejection of societal norms: Thoreau's Walden^ (voluntary) and Golding's Lord of the Flies^ (involuntary).
posted by rob511 at 9:57 PM on December 17, 2006