From the Bay of Cologne

»In the poems in this volume, which were written over the course of four decades, the Bay of Cologne speaks to us, its monstrousness, its damaged beauty, its wealth of contradictions, of images and constant sounds, its never-ending fascination... The Bay of Cologne is not a poetic theme, it has not given rise to a literary tradition, and it does nothing to contribute to this of its own accord. But it does not leave you in peace as long as you live in it, and because writing is always a way of life for me, I have made it my own and tried to come to terms with the everyday reality of it.« Jürgen Becker