English translation and substantial revision of Global playing in der literatur : ein versuch ub̈er die neue Weltliteratur. (Würzburg : Königshausen und Neumann, 2007).. - Includes bibliographical references and index.. - Introduction -- Goethe's Weltliteratur and the career of an idea -- Hybrid literary texts and philological paradigms -- New world literature and a systemic organization of hybrid fiction -- Forms/types of poetic multilingualism and interferences, metamultilingualism, and transtextuality -- Multilingualism as poetic strategy -- Nomadic biographies in new world literature -- Transnational spaces, places, and layers of time -- Conclusion.
