The Art of Kunst ─ Selected Poems, Letters, and Other Writings

This book introduces for the first time selected poetry, letters, and other writings by the German writer Thomas Kunst (Leipzig) to the English-speaking world. Given the many prestigious awards the writer has received for his poetry and the originality of his imaginative thinking, the Turkish-German writer Feridun Zaimoglu rightly called Kunst a great poet. Through his immersion in the poetry of Paul Celan, Georg Trakl, Nicolas Born, Thomas Brasch, and several South and North American writers, Thomas Kunst has acquired a distinctive voice and style that rival the most talented writers in Germany today. Music animates his creative writing. What he calls the instrumentation between music and language flows almost effortlessly from his experiences in the world, shaping the multifaceted textures of his writings. Readers will be struck by the author’s remarkable clarity of expression, precision, directness, and authenticity. «A poem is a poem for me only when the most ordinary things in it irritate me in the most intense ways.» Inner turbulence over the way things are, outer conflict, and the awareness of the ultimate irresolvability of pressing political concerns, everyday experience, knowledge of the classical heritage, and acute aesthetic sensibility unite to provide a unique and challenging reading experience.

Steven D. Martinson received his PhD at the University of Washington. He is currently Professor in the Department of German Studies at the University of Arizona. He is also Research Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and Research Alumnus at Heidelberg University, Germany.
Thomas A. Kovach received his PhD at Princeton University. He is currently Professor in the Department of German Studies at the University of Arizona. He is also the recipient of several Fulbright grants and the Columbia University Deutscher Verein Prize.