Translating the Zeitgeist: German Poetry Now DAS GEDICHT chapbook In its 21st year, the poetry magazine DAS GEDICHT, based in Munich (Germany), is launching an international edition that offers a roadmap of poets writing in contemporary Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Luxemburg. The editors Michael Augustin, Anton G. Leitner, and Paul-Henri Campbell have gathered some of the most interesting poetical voices in the German language, such as Ulla Hahn, Helmut Krausser, Tanja Dückers, Matthias Politycki, Jan Wagner, or Ilma Rakusa. Germany, known as the Land of Poets and Thinkers, has been successful in exporting refrigerators, cork sandals, and sedans, while its contemporary poetic production is virtually unknown outside the German speaking countries. This is quite a surprise, because its poetic landscape is one of the most vibrant, innovative, and varied literary topographies in the world. German Poetry Now is inspired by the leading poetry magazine in the language, DAS GEDICHT, and offers a selection of 44 acclaimed and new authors. 'Pegasus & Rosinante. When Poets Travel' brings together the odysseys and wanderlust of German poets on the backdrop of the sinuous history of their people. These poems are fascinating, but also thought-provoking documents redefining the state of the art in the productive tension of division and reunification. In the past two decades, DAS GEDICHT has shaped this literary landscape like no other magazine of its kind. Instead of concentrating on isolated cliques, it brought poetry to a general audience. The world has often been bamboozled by the German philosophers. With its English edition, we hope the international community may grow fond of the rich variety in German poetry - these kooky bards, seemingly forever tragically oscillating between the euphoric 'Jawohl' and the nihilistic 'Nein', as well as the melancholy 'Jein'.

Michael Augustin (born 1953 in Lübeck, Germany) is one of the most active promoters of poetry on German radio. The globe-trotting poet has participated in major festivals around the world, such as Medellín, Dublin, Barcelona, and Caracas. Augustin is a director of the international festival 'Poetry on the Road' in Bremen. A recipient of the 'Friedrich-Hebbel-Preis', he is a member of the Irish and German P.E.N. A selection of his work in English translation, 'Mickle Makes Muckle', is available from Dedalus Press, Dublin. Anton G. Leitner (born 1961 in Munich, Germany) is a trained lawyer and lives as writer, editor, and publisher in Wessling/Munich. In 1993, he has founded DAS GEDICHT and continues to serve as its editor in chief. For more than 30 years, he has edited defining anthologies for major German publishers, such as Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Reclam, Artemis & Winkler. Leitner is the author of eight volumes of poetry. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the 'V. O. Stomps-Preis' as well as 'AusLese' from Stiftung Lesen. PaulHenri Campbell (born 1982 in Boston, USA) is a poet and translator. He is a bilingual author and writes in German as well as English. He is the author of three volumes of poetry, including 'Space Race' (2012) and 'Am Ende der Zeilen' (2013).