For some critics Walter Jens is a second-rate author who owes his reputation to his prominence as critic, philologist, essayist, and professor of rhetoric rather than to the merit of his literary work; but Jens unquestionably occupies a prominent place in German postwar literature. The richness and diversity of his talents have made him a mediator between genres and cultures. His declared goal is to overcome the narrow confines of traditional literature and to find a synthesis between the sciences and the arts. He is considered a poeta doctus, a learned writer, who emphasizes his roots in the rationalist, democratic, and humanist tradition. The fact that most of his books had more than one edition and are also selling well as paperbacks indicates that he reaches a large audience. In addition, he has been awarded several prizes for literary excellence, among them the German-Swedish Culture Prize of the...