About “Gedichte zieht es in die Welt – Deutsche Gedichte in verschiedenen Sprachen” by Kurt F. Svatek

Book Review by Vasiliki Dragouni

 

The Interwoven Realms of Kurt F. Svatek’s Poetry: Imagery, Myth and Metaphysics

 

Kurt F. Svatek’s Poetry thrives in its ability to compress vast, often ineffable, experiences into precise, evocative language. At its best, it constructs bridges between the sensory and the abstract, the mortal and the divine, often drawing deeply from metaphysics, mythology and archetypes to give depth and resonance to its images.

The essence of his poetry often lies in its vivid imagery - a tapestry woven from words that evoke sights, sounds, tastes and sensations:

“Και το να διευθύνεις,

δεν σημαίνει άλλο από το

να δίνεις το κίνητρο στην ορχήστρα

να αναπνέει σωστά.

Υπάρχουν εικόνες,

για τις οποίες σκέφτεσαι ότι

τα χρώματα προέρχονται από έναν άλλο κόσμο,

διότι ο χρυσός πηγάζει από τα δάκρυα των Θεών.”

 

“And directing,

means nothing less than

to motivate the orchestra

to breathe properly.

There are images,

that you think about

the colors come from another world,

because gold comes from the tears of the gods.”

 

In his poem “Ένα πλοίο σαν ένα άλογο” – “A ship like a horse” the wild gallop of a horse becomes a fevered metaphor for liberation and transformation. Verses like:

“Πόσες χιλιετίες πέρασαν,

για να δει ο άνθρωπος ότι το άλογο δεν ήταν ένα άλογο,

αλλά ένα πλοίο.

Και πόσο γρήγορα γυρίζει η ζωή

ενός ρομαντικού, ενός ονειροπόλου, ενός οραματιστή,

ενός ρεαλιστή;

Όλα συμβαδίζουν.”

 

“How many millennia have passed,

for man to see that the horse was not a horse,

but a ship.

And how quickly life turns

of a romantic, a dreamer, a visionary,

a realist?

Everything goes together.”

 

transport readers into a visceral world where the physical and spiritual collide. Such imagery is not mere ornamentation, it serves as a portal to deeper realms of thought. Here, vivid images do not just describe, they immerse readers in the metaphysical terrain of existential awareness.

The poem “Ηώς” – “Eos” probes the enigmas of existence, blending scientific and existential musings.  The metaphysical elements transform the poem into a meditation on unity, distance and the nature of the soul. Verses like:

“Μπορεί η αυγή

να σε κάνει να ξεχάσεις

τη θύμηση των εφιαλτικών ονείρων,

την εμπειρία την ανημποριάς, την αίσθηση ότι χάνεσαι μέσα

στον ίδιο σου τον εαυτό,

την αναταραχή του μυαλού;”

…

“Ο πρωινός ήλιος

υπόσχεται συχνά πολλά

και άλλες φορές προσφέρει τόσα λίγα.

Όμως στην ταξινόμηση των αστεριών,

o ήλιος μας είναι ακριβώς

ένας κίτρινος νάνος.”

 

“May dawn

make you forget

the memory of nightmarish dreams,

the experience of helplessness, the feeling of being lost

within yourself,

the turmoil of the mind?"

...

"The morning sun

often promises much

and sometimes offers so little.

But in the classification of stars,

our sun is just

a yellow dwarf.”

 

echo the metaphysical, contemplating the universe with a sense of awe and human fragility. Exploration of cosmic vastness intertwines with questions of mortality and purpose, grounding the abstract in deeply personal reflection.

The poem “Υπάρχει κάτι” – “There is something” revisits the mythology of the Muses with an intimate, modern lens and reimagines the ancient tale as a meditation on loss, identity and the cycles of life and death, proving that mythology remains an inexhaustible source for poets seeking to explore the eternal through the personal:

“Μελπομένη, Τερψιχόρη,

Ευτέρπη, Ερατώ, Καλλιόπη,

ή όπως αλλιώς ήταν το όνομα τους,

θα μπορούσε να είναι πιο αληθινό από όσο θα

πίστευε κανείς;”

 

“Melpomene, Terpsichore,

Euterpe, Erato, Calliope,

or whatever their name was,

could be it more real

than one would think?”

 

The interplay of vivid imagery, metaphysical inquiry and mythology in Kurt F. Svatek’s Poetry, speaks to the cyclicality of history and the foreboding of transformation. These elements allow his poems to transcend the limitations of language, creating works that resonate across cultures, exploring what it means to be human.

 

Vasiliki Dragouni