Galant Lies: the poetry column under the direction of Alexandru Bulucz - loosely based on Johann Christian Günther, the baroque poet on the threshold of the Enlightenment, who mocked poets with the words that they were "only gallant liars". Poetry will be reflected on and presented here: in reviews, essays, monthly poems and occasionally also lists of best poems.

Fabian Lenthe, born in 1985 and the author of several volumes of poetry, is a maverick of contemporary German poetry. The book cover of his new volume "Streichhölzer" (Matches) says as much, placing him in the tradition of the poètes maudits and the beat poets - two literary movements of modernism from, respectively, France and America, notable for giving prominence to the "ostracized" and promoting their anti-bourgeois attitudes to life, world views and value systems.

Lenthe conveys his literary tradition by marking social differences (cigarette and bistro vs. loft and crème brûlée; checking the coin slots of shopping trolleys, etc.). He portrays the lyrical subject as unambitious, inactive and at times distracted, but all the more receptive to internal processes. Always aware of his hopelessness and insignificance, the speaker is also in search of happiness: "My intention/ To become a happy person/ Is obvious".

Lenthe prefers the short, abbreviated poem without title or punctuation and just a few stanzas in length, which could be described as a "second poem" by the Brazilian avant-gardist Oswald de Andrade.  The German writer Hans-Jürgen Heise, almost forgotten now, has defined the second poem as being in thrall to the moment and sensualistic. It captures the blunt perception of concrete life, particularly so in Lenthe's case - city life; yesterday's fried chicken being sold outside the supermarket, a carcass by the roadside, a dead sparrow falling from the sky in summer, sounds from the drain or oil splashing in the pan.

XS

Fabian Lenthe | Matches. Gedichte | XS-Verlag | 96 Seiten | 18,00 EUR

Given his identity as a subcultural writer, it is hardly surprising that Lenthe would explore concepts of time. Chronometry is made redundant in his poetry. The speaker reflects on whether the clock stopped during the day or at night - it must have been broken for some time. This includes both the confrontation with death and transience, hinted at in "Fading/ My name/ On the letterbox sign" or the divided "luminosity of the light bulb", as well as childhood memories and the sense of a certain ennui, evident in the measurement of the seemingly inconsequential: "Between the blinking of the smoke alarm/ Ninety-four seconds pass". Or: "The duration of a fly-by/ Of an average passenger plane/ From one side of the window/ To the other/ Is about fifteen seconds/ Sometimes/ Clouds block the view/ And I count instead/ The number of crows/ On the roofs/ Of the neighbouring houses".

It is also remarkable how Lenthe succeeds in creating atmosphere with just a few brushstrokes, so to speak, making use of colour and light: for example, a billboard opposite the hotel, which colours the room with its yellow, green and blue neon light. In turn, this is only enabled by a permeability between the interior and exterior - one becoming the other: "Somewhere a gap/ A door ajar/ A half-open window/ Through which an outside penetrates/ Becomes the inside". Or the curtains of a hotel room.

 Any nature poetry in Lenthe's work is extremely understated, which can be understood as a criticism of the overly sophisticated contemporary nature poetry. The lyrical subject and nature do not interfere with each other;  poetically, they are not exploited: the river flows, the sunrise is irrelevant, and the crows are oblivious to human sympathy.

 The poetry collection "Streichhölzer" is an original and highly recommended addition to established and much-prized contemporary poetry; melancholic and thoughtful, influenced by pop culture and standing staunchly against the smoking ban.