Joachim Wittkowski

Josef Reding became known primarily as an author of short stories. Titles such as Nennt mich nicht Nigger and Ein Scharfmacher kommt set important trends in the development of the German short story in the 1950s and 60s with their socially critical approach. Josef Reding has also made a name for himself since the 1950s with numerous books for children and young people. With the volume Nennt sie beim Namen. Asphaltgebete he also emerged as a poet. In the 1960s, he was one of the prominent faces of Dortmund's Gruppe 61. It is almost unknown that Josef Reding was the author of novels in the series Spannende Geschichten between 1954 and 1956. These stories occupy a key position in the author's work. Josef Reding, der Heftroman und die Kurzgeschichte traces a multi-layered web of biographical, historical and publishing references. Piece by piece, the contours of a literary career that is as unusual as it is exciting are traced in a way that was only possible in the 1950s.