Der Offene Brief. Geschichte und Funktion einer publizistischen Form von Isokrates bis Günter Grass

[...]the open letter had long been excluded from being considered a legitimate part of modern writers' oeuvre on the grounds of its topicality. [...]research on the open letter cannot ignore analyses of its function, the societal systems and their respective public spheres ("Offentlichkeitsstrukturen") that sustain or repress the publication of open letters, their reception, and the specific causes of their origins. [...]apart from the official recipient, Isocrates sought to address the Athenian public, that is, the comparatively limited number of educated, well-to-do, influential readers and convince them of the merits of his cause.