Ludwig Steinherr

Ludwig Steinherr ist ein metaphysischer Dichter, wie der Philosoph Vittorio H sle schreibt. In seiner Lyrik geht es um allt gliche Dinge und Ereignisse - doch auch die gew hnlichsten Gegenst nde erscheinen in einem transzendenten Licht. Im Duft einer Seife ersteht die Stadt Aleppo in der Erinnerung. Ein kleines M dchen in einem China-Restaurant berbietet die Weisheit Buddhas. Das Schielen eines Kindes wird zur Eigenschaft des Sonnengottes. Ein Regenmantel am Haken erscheint als Michelangelos abgezogene Haut in der Kuppel des J ngsten Gerichts. Und die Geliebte tr gt als einzigen Schmuck um den Hals die eigene Verzweiflung. In diesen Gedichten f hrt ein Sprung in einer Teetasse zur ck in die Grabenk mpfe des Ersten Weltkrieges. Und eine M cke, die du aus dem Weinglas retten willst, vererbt dir all ihren Besitz an Licht.

A sizzling transcendental eroticism is glowing in Steinherrs poetry that is galvanized by the tension of metaphysics and profanity, divinity and dazzling idolatry. In the end of many poems, this tension is discharged in a single punchline. Walter Fabian Schmid, poetenladen It is high time to publically acknowledge him as one of the most powerful poets of today. Wulf Segebrecht, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

A sizzling transcendental eroticism is glowing in Steinherrs poetry that is galvanized by the tension of metaphysics and profanity, divinity and dazzling idolatry. In the end of many poems, this tension is discharged in a single punchline. Walter Fabian Schmid, poetenladen It is high time to publically acknowledge him as one of the most powerful poets of today. Wulf Segebrecht, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Ludwig Steinherr is one of the most compelling new voices to have emerged in Germany since the late 1980s and this selection - the first to appear in English - from his 10 poetry collections published between 1985 and 2005 reflects the breadth and depth of his writing, ranging from its post-Celanian darkness to its insistence on light. "This is an uplifting selection from ten collections over twenty years. Steinherr's calling as philosopher is noticeable throughout. He seeks clarification and meaning always, sees the simplicities within the complexity, shows us the obvious that we had missed." Wawick Review, June 2011

Ludwig Steinherr's poetry, both profound and accessible, seems an obvious candidate for English translation. For one thing, it gives us a picture of the things that concern many modern German poets: its themes are silence, memory, knowing and the impossibility of knowing, the everyday and what is beyond. It also shares with much contemporary German poetry its spareness of style, lack of ornamentation and even of punctuation. Afterlife is as important as backstory. And so textual gaps, that play so important and poignant a role in modern German poetry, are here not just silent monuments for loss, but they are also the place for the reader to enter into. Richard Dove's translations are outstanding. In this volume, you can read his English versions alone or alongside the original poems: either way, you get that unique combination of the poet's and the translator's work that makes good translated poetry so rewarding.A" Jean Boase-Beier