Denis Scheck (born 15 December 1964) is a German literary critic, journalist, television presenter and former translator.
Biography
Born in Stuttgart, he studied German studies, contemporary history and political science at the universities of Tübingen, Düsseldorf and Dallas, and earned a master's degree at the University of Texas at Dallas. He was a Visiting Professor at the University of Göttingen in 2004.
Scheck has been a literary agent, translator of American and British authors, publisher and independent critic. In 1997, he was appointed literary editor at Deutschlandfunk. He has presented the ARD programme Druckfrisch since February 2003.
Controversy
Scheck criticized the decision by German publisher Thienemann to change racist and racially insensitive terms in newer editions of children's books by Otfried Preußler and Astrid Lindgren. In response, and as an act of protest, in January 2013, he appeared on TV in blackface. Scheck, who describes himself as a critic of political correctness and censorship in the literary world, does, however, condemn the use of racist terms in contemporary and everyday language.
Publications
1993: King Kong, Spock & Drella – ein Lexikon amerikanischer Trivialmythen
1994: Hell's Kitchen – Streifzüge durch die zeitgenössische US-Literatur
2011: Sie & Er, der kleine Unterschied beim Essen und Trinken
2014: Kurt Vonnegut
2019: Schecks Kanon: Die 100 wichtigsten Werke der Weltliteratur
Television
Druckfrisch (since 2003) Lesenswert Quartett (since 2014) Lesenswert (since 2016) Kunscht! (2016–2018)