English world rights (Seagull), Sweden (Ersatz)
During this period, Hellerau, a garden city on the outskirts of Dresden, is the epicentre of a life-reform programme that extends far beyond the limits of the suburb: it becomes a way-point for Kafka, Rilke, Benn, and...
In this book full of stories, verse, and rare photographs, the poet Durs Grünbein presents himself in an autobiographical light. And yet he reaches further back to a time when the early contours of the twentieth century were just beginning to emerge.
During this period, Hellerau, a garden city on the outskirts of Dresden, is the epicentre of a life-reform programme that extends far beyond the limits of the suburb: it becomes a way-point for Kafka, Rilke, Benn, and many more. For Grünbein, Hellerau becomes a starting point, a site of formative power for his own life. From here, we proceed further into the century: the fates of his ancestors and the accounts of the trauma of Dresden’s destruction form narratives that penetrate deep into the sphere of his own experiences.
What emerges is the image of a childhood – at the edge of history in the long summers of the Cold War. Friendships and the early experience of loss, schoolboy memories and the first exposure to books, favourite toys and dreams of becoming a writer unfold in a colourful kaleidoscope of autobiographical prose, poetry, reflections and, last but not least, a treasure trove of photographs from the poet’s rich collection.
»From the top. And so here you are once again, just like before – !«
»[Grünbein] succeeds in creating wonderful miniatures that create and tell a short cultural history of East Germany beyond the memories and it is only natural that it then reaches far beyond the space and time of childhood. And so the kaleidoscope of a time and a world that have been lost comes forth from the nightmarish daze.« Roman Bucheli, NZZ
»a book of memories made of sparkling pieces of prose […] The pattern that Grünbein’s miniatures inscribe into our mind is of irresistible charm.« Stefan Kister, Stuttgarter Zeitung
»vivid, sensuous and with many unexpected turns […] allusive and crystalline prose« Helmut Böttiger, SWR2
»This is a completely wonderful book. One that is being carried to a great extent by its virtuosic language and the poetry of its texts, which includes the courage to be as exact and as sincere as possible. It has been written by one who knows himself and the circumstances he comes from – the familial as well as the historical ones, the private as well as the societal ones.« Andreas Montag, Mitteldeutsche Zeitung
»[Grünbein] succeeds in creating wonderful miniatures that create and tell a short cultural history of East Germany beyond the memories and it is only natural that it then reaches far beyond the space and time of childhood. And so the kaleidoscope of a time and a world that have been lost comes forth from the nightmarish daze.« Roman Bucheli, NZZ
»a book of memories made of sparkling pieces of prose […] The pattern that Grünbein’s miniatures inscribe into our mind is of...
Durs Grünbein, born in Dresden in 1962, read theatre studies in Berlin, after which he worked as a freelancer writing for various literary magazines. He is one of the most important and internationally influential German poets and essayists and the recipient of numerous prestigious literary prizes. His debut volume of poetry published in 1988 was entitled Grauzone morgens and he went on to publish nearly twenty collections of poetry including Vom Schnee oder Descartes in Deutschland (2003), Der Misanthrop auf Capri (2005), Porzellan. Poem vom Untergang meiner Stadt (2005) and Zündkerzen (2017). He is also the author of a collection of essays and opera librettos. He has translated the tragedies of Aeschylus and Seneca into...
Durs Grünbein, born in Dresden in 1962, read theatre studies in Berlin, after which he worked as a freelancer writing for various literary...
»Now they were all mere playthings in the grasping arms of a state order such as had never existed before. An order that could only be destroyed from the outside by lightning and...
English world rights (Seagull), Chinese simplex rights (Shanghai People's Publishing House), Italy (Einaudi), Sweden (Ersatz)
English world rights (Seagull)
In his four Lord Weidenfeld Lectures held in Oxford in 2019, poet Durs Grünbein deals with a topic that has occupied his mind ever since the moment he started to perceive his own position...
English world rights (Seagull)
The title of a book of poetry could not be any more provocative, and still the poet allows no room for doubt: »In general, that which we call reality is greatly overestimated.«...
France (selection; 17 Muscles)
Spark Plugs is a collection of 83 poems in diverse forms consisting of dream fragments, snippets of speech, prose poems, broken sonnets, and sequences that read like accident reports....
Italy (selection; Einaudi)
What is going on? The Americans are abandoning the moon, leaving the earth’s seemingly dead companion to stragglers. Time to recapitulate: On a Sunday afternoon in Berlin, on the airfield of the disused Tempelhof Airport, poet Durs Grünbein makes a momentuous observation.
What if humanity only ever wanted to return from its adventures in space exploration? Yesterday it was the...Durs Grünbein’s volumes of poetry are known for grasping their subjetcs in larger and larger circles, in their concentric sprawl they seem made for this age of globalisation. His new collection of poetry follows the outline of an exhibition. Works from the last five to eight years are presented in seven sections.
There are images of a journey, excursions into the unknown routine,...
Proceeding on the observation that poetics that create norms and set benchmarks no longer existed, Grünbein traces his poetic career as a »sketch of a personal psychopoetics«.
This...
English world rights (Upper West Side Philosophers), Turkey (Ketebe)
The term »metaphor« derives from the Greek metà phérein (»to carry elsewhere«), which, in Antiquity, usually meant »by ship«, so that sea travel itself soon became a metaphor for poetry....
English world rights (FSG), Sweden (Ersatz), Albania (Aleph Klub)
Durs Grünbein visited Japan four times, in pursuit of a long elective affinity for the East that is also reflected in his works. During all of the four journeys he kept a travel journal in the...
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: France (Voix de Plumes)
English world rights (Upper West Side Philosophers), Sweden (Ersatz)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Italy (Einaudi)
This volume contains 25 essays. It provides a chronological rip cut of Durs Grünbein‘s rich essay writing over the course of more than 15 years – from the early, much-quoted texts...
Italy (Einaudi)
English world rights (Seagull)
The Misanthrope on Capri (a reference to emperor Tiberius) gathers Durs Grünbein’s »histories«, printed in various publications and in his own volumes of poetry – poems that mainly deal...
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Poland (Slowo)
France (Greges), Italy (Einaudi), Sweden (Ersatz)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Greece (Keedros)
In the nine essays and speeches collected in this volume, Durs Grünbein circles the prerequisites, conditions and consequences of writing.
»The intimate tries to assert itself through writing,« he says, »paradoxically by exposing itself publicly. But it soon becomes clear that the public is nothing by a particularly impervious protective layer.« Grünbein lets the reader partake in...
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Italy (Einaudi), Hungary (Jelenkor)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Italy (Einaudi)