Rainer Strobelt is a German poet, essayist and translator. Born 1947 in Ahlen//Westfalen, he studied Anglistics and Slavistics at the universities of Freiburg, Zagreb and Münster. His books of poetry are: 68 plus, Essen 1994; bei bäumen liegen, Hünfeld 1997; z żabą i deszczem, Olsztyn 1998; ganz zu schweigen von, Freiberg/Sachsen 2000; telegramm an gryphius, Freiberg/Sachsen 2003; umland, Freiberg/Sachsen 2006; ganzer schöner frieden, Freiberg/Sachsen 2009. His essays were on Antun Branko Šimić, Wisława Szymborska, Antoni Janowski and Tamara Bołdak-Janowska, Kazimierz Brakoniecki. Ulla Lachauer (Die Brücke von Tilsit) calls Strobelt „a master of the lyrical miniature“. Ralph Giordano (Die Bertinis) stresses the „gentle chord“ in Strobelt’s verse. Axel Kutsch (Stille Nacht nur bis acht) sees Strobelt’s concise poems to stand in a „tradition that can be traced back in Germany to Heinrich Heine and as far as Friedrich Logau“. Tamara Bołdak-Janowska (whose story in German translation „Morning and evening“ – dtv, München 2000 - Aleksandra Markiewicz calls a „metaphor of the expiring century“ and whom Julian Kornhauser in Kwartalnik Artystyczny 3 (19) 1998 regards as a first-class Polish writer) points out that „Strobelt’s seeming simplicity contains raging complexity.“ („Pozorna prostota u Strobelta zawiera szaloną trudność.“, Czasopis 7-8/1998). Jürgen Völkert-Marten (Flugzeuge über Flugenten) mentions Rainer Strobelt as one of his two favourite lyricists in the time after Rolf Dieter Brinkmann and Ernst Jandl (Silver Horse Lyrics, Nov.2006). Theo Breuer (Nacht im Kreuz) calls Rainer Strobelt “a colossal minimalist” as he cites Strobelt’s poem „dichter kitt“ as a motto of his survey “Sieben Tage Begattung der Wörter: Lyrik im deutschen Sprachraum in der Mitte des Jahrzehnts”, Kiesel & Kastanie, Sistig/Eifel: Edition YE, 2008: habe gereimt/habe mir zugige fugen/mit gleichklang verleimt

The man

He exists
There he goes
There he speaks
Listen(s)
Across the street a garden
His house

(Krynki, 24 July 2001)


One stone

You know
David
Your stone is a violin

That leans far
Green blades bowing it
Yellow blossoms feeding the melody

This violin is about the size
Of your first one
So light and flying to you

(Krynki, 24 July 2001)


Those green ferns
Do not rustle

Of fresher silence though
Are all the stones


That century

Swimming-shoes
White and all intact
Very small size
No feet for miles around


Oh my human

You came tripping along
For flutters of an eyelash
In the threads
Your god was weaving for you
In his dream


The painting

May I say something
About Liście na fioletowej ścianie

Very warm colours
Especially the greens

At the bottom of course
Nacht


I see

Rain ever so light
Touching small leaves

This after all is how
Duration smells

(Rainer Strobelt, in: Annus Albaruthenicus (3) 2002)

WARM POEMS

Reach out

Airmail letter

No

Not writing one today

Throwing a stone though

Throwing it warm

Throwing it flat

(copyright (c) Rainer Strobelt)

°°°

Colourful friend

Ts true sir tends to go red

And yes madam

Cant help turning pale

(copyright (c) Rainer Strobelt)

°°°

Conversation

Someone is sitting over there

Saying little

Telling me so much

I feel like getting up

(copyright (c) Rainer Strobelt)

°°°

On fruitless love

I have

in time

not wanted

to be near you

My love

has thought it

cleverer

to stay

So now

as others

find you

worthy

I fancy

all the kissing

and watch my hair

turn grey

(R.S., 68 plus: Gedichte, Essen: Runzheimer, 1994, p. 115)

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RAINER STROBELT

RECONCILIATION

RECONCILIATION I
Mine is yours. But mine is empty and yours is void.
Still, we will always feel there is something. Yes, and it's true, there is.
That colorful morsel to be called ours. Solidly hovering between victorious shades of
you and me who we, did I mention that, perhaps are, never were, but very well may be.
Give me one reason against it?

RECONCILIATION II
And also let's be honest. San Francisco, Atlanta. This very airplane covers it all.

RECONCILIATION III
Hooshy – another fine name to remember.


(minimalbooks: February 2012, p.27, www.minimalbooks.blox.pl.)

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