German Poetry Now: A bilingual online-anthology, featured by DAS GEDICHT chapbook
Ludwig Steinherr
Goodnight story
When in the beginning of the Battle of the Somme
the great mines exploded
all of Europe shuddered –
All the way to London the porcelain was clinking from the blasts –
That’s what I’m telling my teacup
while I’m rinsing it out
and tenderly rubbing it dry –
I hold it up against the light like a raw egg –
A vaguely formed face shines through
the bottom of the cup – a Chinese woman –
What is that in her Buddha smile –
a thin vein? A hairline crack in the cup?
Which, by the way, runs
across the rim of the cup
up the entire wall and
diagonally along the ceiling
out into the darkness
and out to who knows where –
translated by Paul-Henri Campbell
+ German Original / Das Original
Ludwig Steinherr
Nachtgeschichte
Als zu Beginn der Somme-Schlacht
die großen Minen explodierten
bebte ganz Europa –
Vom Knall klirrte noch in London das Porzellan –
Das erzähle ich meiner Teetasse
während ich sie ausspüle
und zärtlich trockenreibe –
Ich halte sie gegens Licht wie ein rohes Ei –
Durch den Tassenboden schimmert
ein angebrütetes Gesicht – eine Chinesin –
Was ist das in ihrem Buddha-Lächeln –
ein Äderchen? Ein haarfeiner Sprung in der Schale?
Der übrigens fortläuft
über den Rand der Tasse
die Wand hoch und
quer über die Zimmerdecke
in die Dunkelheit hinaus
und wer weiß wohin –
© Ludwig Steinherr, München
aus: DAS GEDICHT Bd. 22 / Oktober 2014
+ About the author / Zum AutorLudwig Steinherr was born in Munich in 1962. He studied philosophy and earned a PhD with a dissertation on Hegel and Quine. He lives in Munich. For the twelve books of poetry that have been published so far, he received various awards such as the prestigious Leonce-und-Lena-Förderpreis, the Book Award of the Evangelical Churches in Germany, and the Hermann-Hesse-Förderpreis. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote that »it is high time to publicly acknowledge him as one of the most powerful poets of today.« In 2003, Steinherr became a member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts. His work has been translated into multiple languages. He has been invited to internationally acclaimed literary festivals, such as the Journées Littéraires de Mondorf (Luxembourg), German- Arabic Poetry Salon in Damascus (Syria), as well as the European Literature Night in London, StAnza – Scotland’s International Poetry Festival, and the Birmingham Literature Festival. In 2012, he was lecturer at the University of Notre Dame (USA) in the Advanced Lecture Series. Regarding the English edition of Steinherr’s book of poems »All Ears«, another commentator remarked: »and even though the supernatural imagery prevalent in his work comes from the banks of the Rhône and the slopes of the Monte Visio, even though Steinherr breathes with the Hebrews the scent of the almond tree and with the Greeks the lush air of the olive grove, even though his lines are littered with orgiastic parties, gunfights, Leica Cameras, investment banking, and Coke cans, the reader will never be put-off by a phony notion of eclecticism. The reader will sense this serene purpose, forever inaudible.«
»Lustful Things – Geile Sachen!« im Archiv
»Lustful Things – Geile Sachen!« is an online collection of contemporary German-language poetry in English translation. All poems were taken from issue no. 22 of the German poetry magazine DAS GEDICHT, focused on the Poetry of Things. New English translations by Paul-Henri Campbell as well as the German originals are published here every Wednesday. All poems of this online-collection will also be published in a special print-edition. In order to read previous poems in this series, click here.
»Lustful Things – Geile Sachen!« ist eine Online-Sammlung zeitgenössischer deutschsprachiger Dinggedichte in englischer Übersetzung. Alle Texte sind Band 22 der Zeitschrift DAS GEDICHT entnommen. Jeden Mittwoch erscheint ein neues Gedicht, das von Paul-Henri Campbell ins Englische übertragen wurde, zusammen mit dem deutschen Original. Die Beiträge dieser Online-Anthologie gibt es auch als Sonderausgabe in Buchform. Alle bereits erschienenen Folgen von »Lustful Things – Geile Sachen!« finden Sie hier.
»Lustful Things – Geile Sachen!« im Archiv
