Newly released:
Third book of the Strittig-series by the title
Strittig die dritte: Frische Kurzprosa vom kolossalen Minimalisten. 2022
(ISBN softcover 978-3-756501-58-8, ISBN hardcover 978-3-754976-68-5)
"Strittig liebt die Welt in all ihren Widersprüchlichkeiten. Gibt drum heut der Tausendfüßlerin einen Handkuss."
bookreview:
https://literaturkritik.de/public/rezension.php?rez_id=29350
namenloser staub
da ich einherschreit an der luft
wirst du in einem kellerraum erstarren
da ich so spiel mit jedem einzlen duft
wirst du in namenlosem staub ergrauend harren
(rs, 13.3.22)
Globo is how I like to call our little world
chop-chop
Globo
chop
Newest book of his poetry to be purchased through Amazon, Hugendubel.de or bookstore:
Rainer Strobelt, "lüfte fragen". Gedichte. chiliverlag 2021.
- ISBN : 978-3943292961
(publisher's note): Rainer Strobelts Gedichte beziehen sich auf ein Gegenüber, auf ein Du. Sein Sprachwitz gepaart mit Geistesblitzen und Humor verdichtet sich zu äußerst kompakten, stark komprimierten Versen. Nicht selten hinterlassen sie ein Schmunzeln beim Leser. "Poetik der Hypersemantisierung" (Edin Konjhodzic, Germanist, Goethe-Institut Washington D.C., 2020)
(review by Thorsten Paprotny, literaturkritik.de, July 2021):
---
"[R.S.] has become a remarkable poet of the German language whose name is already mentioned as in company with Kurt Schwitters, Christian Morgenstern and Joachim Ringelnatz."
(Jens Liebich in literaturkritik.de (12) 2017, translation from the German original R.S.)
Rainer Strobelt is a German writer, poet, essayist, critic and translator who occasionally writes in English and Croation, too. 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 (enacted at an international sommer camp, Poland, 1999) ; ganz zu schweigen von, Freiberg/Sachsen 2000; telegramm an gryphius, Freiberg/Sachsen 2003; umland, Freiberg/Sachsen 2006; ganzer schöner frieden, Freiberg/Sachsen 2009; dein name steht wie eine welt: 123 Liebe-Gedichte, Freiberg/Sachsen 2013. leichte athletik: Launige Gedichte, Freiberg/Sachsen 2015. His "narrative of the wholesome mouthfuls" as he himself brands it is entitled Strittig: Seine literaturnahen Vollkostbrösel, Freiberg/Sachsen 2016, succeeded by Strittig wieder: Neue Strittlinge und eine Fussballgeschichte, Freiberg/Sachsen December 2018. 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 poetic 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. Rainer Strobelt likes to submit with some success samples of his haiku poetry at the annual Ludbreg (Croatia) event as fostered by Croatian writer Željko Funda. He is also an occasional contributor to the Croatian-Bosnian blog "Ajfelov most" of internationally famous writer Miljenko Jergović.
Latest international reading of his German originals as well as his own Croatian translations: Sarajevo, 27-31 October 2015 ,"Sarajevski dani poezije" (by invitation of the Bosnian-Hercegovinian writers' union with its chairman Dževad Karahasan) together with German colleagues Nadja Küchenmeister and Nico Bleutge.
Critic Jens Liebich points out Strobelt’s poetry being mentioned as in company with Kurt Schwitters, Christian Morgenstern and Joachim Ringelnatz while as to both books of
Strobelt’s short prose on Strittig he sees as their implication “the charm, wit and contradictions of our language” with the first book reminding us of Bertolt Brecht’s
“Geschichten vom Herrn Keuner” while the second also exposes “criticism of the day and the society” (literaturkritik.de 12/2017 and 07/2019).
On his author’s homepage Strobelt presents monthly picks, a single word from the German dictionary seen as wonderful: “Mond um Mond” (cf. next page).
---
"These micro poems pack such a punch!"
(Aldobranti Fosco Fornio, England, 2017)
Me I am the one
And
only
you
(first time published here 2017)
four poetry
three peace
two silence
on easiness
(from Rainer Strobelt, bei bäumen liegen, Hünfeld 1997)
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)
---
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)
---