Johannes Bobrowski (1917–1965)

This edition of Johannes Bobrowski's poems was published in 1990, in the still existing GDR, by Eberhard Haufe, who chose around 150 poems and also wrote an illuminating afterword.

Johannes Bobrowski was a German writer who was born in Tilsit/Sowetsk, a town close to Königsberg/Kaliningrad, now on the Lithuanian border. He was from a Christian family who were opposed to the Nazis, but still, he became a soldier. He served on the campaign in Russia and was later imprisoned there until 1949.
Because of these experiences, Bobrowski's main topic was the European east, its natural world, but also its history. Most of his poems deal with the Lithuanian/East Prussian landscape of the region where he grew up, or with the Russian landscape around Nowgorod, where he was stationed during the war. Bobrowski moved to Berlin after he returned from prison and lived there until his death, so with the exception of a few poems that were written in the 1940s, he wrote about the east from memory, and created a magical and unreal region. This was supported by his usage of the ancient name Samartia - a poetic version of the land, but not a perfect one, because there are the shadows of the war and of the holocaust. There are people who go to their death, buildings that are destroyed and decayed, there is a cold and dangerous feeling that disturbs the often lyrical descriptions of nature. Emotions of loss and guilt - both Bobrowski's personal guilt as a soldier, as well as Germany's collective guilt - influence these poems.

During his lifetime, Bobrowski was one of the few authors who were equally read and respected in both German states, despite dealing with the politically and morally difficult topics mentioned above, which were treated differently in the two Germanys. Bobrowski himself wanted to be just a 'German' writer and did not wish to pledge allegiance to one of the two, and he was successful in that. He was a friend of some of the most important writers of the time, such as Günter Grass, Uwe Johnson and Paul Celan.

Bobrowski's poems are often not easy to understand, as they are full of metaphors and images, as well as deeply intertextual. Some are dedicated or written in response to other writers (alive or long deceased), others reference myths and legends. His continuous use of enjambement, of neologisms and inversions creates a special rhythm that does not always feel natural. Despite the often dreamlike quality of his poetry, it is firmly rooted in reality, often being connected to specific places that are mentioned or described. The language often includes prefixes used in a surprising way and an unusual syntax, which builds an atmosphere that makes the reader feel that despite the beautiful nature, something is wrong. For sure, I have only scratched the surface of Bobrowski's work with these poems.… (more)