This is the first volume of poems Reiner Kunz has published since 1986 (except the poems for children Wohin der Schlaf sich schlafen legt). In his recent diary Am Sonnenhang and the collection Wo Freiheit ist... (Where freedom dwells) his reflections on contemporary historical events, especially concerning the changes in Eastern Europe, occupy significant space. In the mid-nineties, however, Kunze began concentrating on a new collection of poems.Irrespective of Kunze`s familiar linguistic firmness and laconic brevity there is something very new in this volume ein tag auf dieser erde. It points to an affinity with nature, a heartfelt relation of the mind with the experience of nature that did not exist in Kunze`s earlier works to this extent. Especially the series written between 1993 and 1995 (it gave the volume the title) combines a keen perception of landscape, flora and fauna with the unique meditative self-absorption of the observer. But Reiner Kunze is also dealing with the political topics that were occupying him in the early nineties. Especially the series Die Mauer (The Wall) tells about Kunze`s experience during that time. Moreover Kunze follows up on the impressions he gained on his travels through Europe, Asia and Africa and through the continents of music, literature and visual art. Reiner Kunze`s poems do not represent theses or programs. They may never be reduced to slogans. In this volume his poetry might still have become more private, more quiet, but also more intensive.
