Wislawa Szymborska | © Livio Baumgartner
The dual horizon: Blow-drying my long-overdue overgrowth
“Why should renewable words not be al dente, / tough to chew on, frost-resistant and never afraid of heights, / not easy to swallow, a splintered silence” … (Simone Lappert).
Contemporary poetry books explore forms of love, relationships, intimacy and the fragility thereof in many and various ways. On this particular evening, the dual horizon brings two such volumes together – volumes that were both included in this year’s Poetry Recommendations.
Simone Lappert (1985), having already probed the limits of love in her novels Wurfschatten (Cast Shadows) and Der Sprung (The Leap), now continues her exceptionally granular and robust reflections in long-overdue overgrowth – in part thanks to her gripping, surprising use of natural imagery: “When we meet again, / bitter and lavenderless, the sand of slumber / will be swept from our eyes”.
Likewise Sirka Elspass (1995), whose first book addresses “the lines between beauty, love, danger and vulnerability” (in the words of Christian Metz’s recommendation). While the title of her book alludes to a complex kind of self-harm, another passage bemoans “the lack of a waste bin for body parts”. The epithet “compelling, admirable poetry that has matured over many years” certainly applies to both volumes.
An event organized under the aegis of the 2023 Poetry Recommendations.
Tickets: 8 euros/6 euros (discount rate). Lyrik Kabinett members receive free admission. For more information, please visit the Lyrik Kabinett website. The event will be held in German.
LMU and the Lyrik Kabinett have worked together very intensively for over 30 years. The more than 70,000 works subsumed under the Lyrik Kabinett Foundation are available via OPAC to everyone related to LMU. Numerous events provide a fascinating insight into the current poetic landscape.