Remembering Ian Wallace, Lion Feuchtwanger scholar and editor
In memoriam Ian Wallace
‘In January 1959 Arnold Zweig spoke at the German Academy of the Arts about the loss of Lion Feuchtwanger. He sadly said: “No more letters from Lion Feuchtwanger.” Today we are facing the immense loss of an intellectual, an immensely collegial, supportive and gentle scholar in German and Exile Studies, particularly GDR Studies, who played the leading role in the establishment of the International Feuchtwanger Society: Ian Wallace. Since 2009 Ian Wallace has been General Editor of the Feuchtwanger Studies, chaired many international IFS conferences and contributed with his amazing studies to the state of art of Feuchtwanger studies. He was central in the establishment of scholarly research on the literary culture in the GDR. All those who got know him, searched and were inspired by his advice will miss him. — No more mails from Ian Wallace.’
– Professor Frank Stern, University of Vienna, Vice President of the International Feuchtwanger Society and new Series Editor for the Feuchtwanger Studies book series
‘It was our pleasure at Peter Lang to collaborate with Ian Wallace for more than 10 years on the book series Feuchtwanger Studies, which he started as an outlet for proceedings from the International Feuchtwanger Society, the organisation he founded and led. An active and enthusiastic editor, he was a warm and welcoming presence, always generous with his time and in his support for others. Last year he let me know it was time to name a successor to edit the series, and he made sure it was put in safe hands. He was thoughtful and caring to the end. We will miss him greatly, but we hope that his series will live on as a testament to his leadership in the field.’
– Dr Laurel Plapp, Senior Commissioning Editor, Peter Lang Oxford
A message from Ian Wallace in the International Feuchtwanger Society Newsletter, Volume 33, 2021:
‘I have to begin with the recent appearance of the volume Feuchtwanger und die Erinnerungskultur in Frankreich / Feuchtwanger et la culture mémorielle en France, edited by Daniel Azuélos, Andrea Chartier-Page Bunzel and Frédéric Teinturier. When this landed on my desk it immediately brought back a flood of memories of the wonderful conference in 2017 in Paris on which the volume is based. In my ideal world a similar conference would take place every year in the autumn in Paris, but I suppose that, while Covid-19 continues to plague us every day, we must be grateful at least to have in our hands the expertly edited and beautifully presented academic fruits of one such conference. I would ask you not to think that my praise for the volume has been at all influenced by the editors’ generous decision to dedicate it to me (well, certainly not too much anyway…). I see it rather as evidence of the spirit of friendship and international cooperation which the International Feuchtwanger Society has always fostered and which in my view has been one of its most remarkable achievements over the past twenty years. It will also be the last volume with which I shall be involved as General Editor of the Feuchtwanger Studies series. Let me pass on my best wishes to my very able successor and friend Frank Stern.’
