“Awkwardly, his hand moves over the paper” [“Schwerfällig geht seine Hand übers Papier”]

Abstract

This article examines the ‘scenes of writing’ in two novels by Klaus Mann and argues that they constitute a key aspect of the sexual-political dimension of his work. Mann creates ‘queer scenes of writing’ in which he discusses the role of literature, the function of authorship, and the material conditions for a book to find an audience. I extend the political potential of the theories of the scene of writing, developed in the United States and Germany, to highlight that one can understand the existence and availability of queer literature through a wider angle. Mann’s texts show that the representation of queer sexuality in literature productively underscores the political aspect of cultural writing and reading practices, making clear that the existence of queer literature depends on many factors, not just the author alone.