Longing for language

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Longing for Language is the second volume of poetry by the poet Gino Chiellino , who publishes his literary works under the name Carmine Chiellino.

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The volume was published in 1987 in Kiel. It contains poems written between 1983 and 1985 and consists of seven chapters, most of which contain ten poems each. Exceptions to this are the fifth part 'Sehnsucht nach Sprache' (p. 55), which contains eight poems, the section 'Berufe der Demokratie' (p. 65), which consists of only four poems and which is entitled 'Notate' ( P. 71) provided, last chapter. This contains 16 poems. An often used and characteristic rhetorical figure of the tape is the Apokoinu. Many poems contain lines that act as a transition between the stanzas such as B. the following lines in the poem 'II. Cosenza without Proust '(p. 19):

Trending on
my thoughts, I walk along Corso Mazzini,
eating the eternal ice cream
, Maddalena
has been waiting behind the cash register since Proust made her a wife […].

The line 'eating the eternal ice cream' could refer to both the lyrical self and the waiting Maddalena.

The book cover clarifies the relationship between the written and the oral aspect of language, as the latter is often excluded in the written language. In addition to the normal writing, the title is also written in phonetic transcription and the words are only separated by a space and the color difference. This is both a comparison, since the colors blue and red are color-psychologically complementary colors, as well as an equality, since writing and phonetic transcription merge into one another without breaks.

The first part, entitled 'Conversations', contains ten poems which, through the cursive script, visibly refer to fellow poets or classics of German literature. Friedrich Hölderlin , Paul Celan , Bertolt Brecht , Alfred Andersch , Sarah Kirsch , Günter Kunert , Andreas Gryphius and Günther Anders are cited, among others . The quotations that refer to the authors Mascha Kaléko , Raissa Orlowa and the author Vladimir Makanin represent that part of a cultural memory that is based on intercultural writers. Chiellino mentions the names of his interlocutors as the motto of the entire volume of poems, but also places dedications with individual poems. Quotations from other parties are highlighted with italic fonts. The intertextual references illustrate a German-speaking presence of the lyrical self, while the poems of the second section set out in search of memories in an Italian-speaking past.

The second section of the volume also consists of ten poems - this time numbered with Roman numerals - and is entitled 'To Cosenza, without Proust'. As an intertextual reference, the section clearly differs from Proust's works. The lyrical ego becomes B. in poem I. described as' seeking 'and in poem' II. Cosenza without Proust 'is by no means haunted by' involuntary memories', but is rather on the way to a (conscious) 'appointment' with his former self, as it is called 'with the shy village boy'. The poems in this section deal with the memories of childhood, but also with the relatives who stayed there after the lyrical self emigrated. Only the last poem 'X. And tomorrow 'changes the somewhat melancholy tone by addressing a' you 'directly. The conversation with him is not direct. Rather, it is a premonition that the presence of a 'hungry' (ie, curious) you in the past of the lyrical ego carries something forward-looking. The lines 'they bind your memory / and are a part of it and tomorrow' show that the past is linked to the future.

The third part of the volume of poetry, entitled 'Location determination', also contains ten poems. The poems bring the place and time of the lyrical self into harmony, as they show that the change of place and language (from Italian to German) is by no means to be understood as a break in the course of life. For this purpose, in the poem 'Meine Fremde', a country in the 'north' is first named as the stranger, but the four lines of this statement are, so to speak, overwhelmed by the following ten lines. The comparison of the first lines of the stanzas - 'My stranger is a place' and 'My stranger is a time' - make it clear that the real stranger is not emigration itself, but is based on childhood memories. The poems of the third part emphasize the constant dialogue between 'home' and 'stranger' whereby the affiliation can be felt more strongly here and there. The new country, the new language, is only viewed with suspicion by the lyric self when it critically reflects on offers of 'integration'. It calls the wish to belong to the majority, a 'wrong wish' (in: “für Altun”, p. 37). On the other hand, the lyrical ego alienates the German language of the poem 'It surprises me' (p. 36) by using the word 'Fremdfahrt' instead of 'Heimfahrt'. But the poems are by no means concerned with juxtapositions. Rather, it is about the productive connection between the past (memory or childhood) and the future. For this the lyrical ego builds B. in the poem 'Steine ​​zum Laufen' (p. 40) the mannerisms of the Aliens Act of the 1980s and new ways for future 'foreigners' (ie immigrants) new.

The fourth part also consists of ten poems - this time numbered with Arabic numbers. It is entitled 'In a Time of False Tragedy'. This part of the volume is strongly reminiscent of the author's first volume of poetry, as it contains ironic and critical considerations of everyday life in West Germany and revitalizes the political spirit of the first volume. The poems' 1. You are wrong, Herr Richter '(p. 44),' 4. Why would I, Mr. Richter '(p. 47),' 5. The stranger, Herr Richter '(p. 48),' 6. No, Mr. Richter '(p. 49) and '10. No!' (P. 53) serve as pillars of the section and intensify the contradiction against an impersonal, authoritarian state power.

The title-giving fifth section 'Longing for Language' is the one that contains multilingual poems. All poems are written in three languages ​​- first in Calabrian, second in Italian and third in German, whereby the individual languages ​​each make up a stanza of the poem and are optically marked by an insert in the middle Italian-speaking part. But they are by no means translations, but rather illustrate the flowing transition of the lyrical self from one language to another. The visual presence of the three languages ​​also emphasizes that the languages ​​are equivalent, complement each other and that the arrival of the German language in no way means forgetting the previous two. Vowel harmony points out the similarities between the languages, while the continuation of the theme within the poem emphasizes the communication between the languages. Interestingly enough, the longing for language in no way expresses the longing for an assimilatory arrival in the German language, but rather illustrates the necessity of an equal coexistence of the three languages ​​of the lyrical self.

In the sixth section , which contains only four poems, the poet defines some of the job titles used in everyday German life. The poems are numbered with Arabic numerals and it seems significant that the first poem describes a border guard. 'Der Stadtmacher' sits in a glass case and conducts telephone conversations on the affairs of immigrants. These are called 'scattered, shipwrecked and stranded'. Although the official keeps the city 'open', his Swabian pronunciation and that his attitude is sometimes 'crafty' makes it clear what power he has over the people. The irony in the job titles can also be felt in the other three poems.

The seventh part of the poetry volume contains sixteen poems and is entitled 'Notate'. The poems describe development processes or trains of thought that are important for the creative process. They show how the memory works and how a poem can be created from it. Often the poems formulate the question of the lyrical self, why and how it addresses certain topics and especially these topics, as it is e.g. B. in the poem '... the excitement breaks' with the question

why
not take to the streets
at dawn
?

The lyrical ego is aware that it is ahead of its time, but this fact does not prevent it from formulating sensitive content. Rather, it makes itself aware that it is working for a future or for a future generation on 'stock' (in: 'Rasten', p. 75) when it z. B. is looking for a conversation with one's own daughter (e.g. in: 'Without a father'). This although the emphasis on belonging often arouses skepticism in him, e.g. B. in the poem 'Am Vorabend' (p. 79) or with bitter irony denouncing the circumstances and disadvantages of asymmetrical communication between state power and citizens (e.g. in: 'Neue Architektur', p. 81). In addition to criticizing well-meaning 'helpers' (p. 82, see also 'The Invitation', p. 84), attempts are also made to define a new identity (e.g. in: 'Jandel für Ausländer', p. 83). The section, and thus the volume of poems, ends in a funny, critical self-definition of the lyrical self, which emphasizes that any external determination that has been addressed by numerous poems in the volume is doomed to failure. The ego claims the right to regard itself as the center of the (ie its) world. The statement of the three-liner at the same time blurs the boundaries between the lyrical self and the poet and shows the playfulness of a creative process through the modification of the classic quotation 'in vino veritas'.

Narcissus

thinking about me

I thought

in Gino Veritas.

literature

  • Gino Chiellino: Longing for language . Neuer Malik Verlag, Kiel, Germany 1987.

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