MLR, 104.1, 2009 289 fore, including texts that challenge thelimits offamiliar corpora. Emmerich, for ex ample,illuminatingly extendsthecorpusofHolocaustpoetrytoa sixty-year period. The ideaofpoetryas a 'message ina bottle'arrivedin Germanpoeticsinreflec tions articulated byBrecht(1942)andbyCelan (1958). Itrecurs, as thestimulating introduction tothis volumeidentifies, in KunertandGerlach; itistaken up bythe PastiorandEnzensberger poemsdiscussedsubsequently. Chaptersearlyinthevo lumeareexplicitintheir engagement with theconcept of 'Flaschenpost', including Kohl's striking exploration of metaphorvia insights from linguistics and a plethora ofpoemsas case studies. Eskin'scompelling essayon thetransfer of Mandelstam's ideaof 'Flaschenpost' to the workofCelan,Brodsky, andGrunbein isa pleasure toread.Elucidatingthedifferent poeticsand ethics behindthisreception, he em phasizeshow itentailsa senseofpoetry'sintrinsically dialogicimpulse, as distinct from Brecht'sunderstanding of 'Flaschenpost'. Laterchaptersleavethereaderto deducetheir relation to 'Flaschenpost': they may takeitas a passing-on from writer towriter, as Paul's does forwomen poets; or return to shipwreck, as does Ryan's convincing analysis of twentieth-century verseepicsasdisaster poems.Insum,this volumeisfull of fascinating essays,richininsights from someof thebestscholars ofGermanpoetry. CARDIFF UNIVERSITY RUTH J. OWEN Schaltstelle: Neue deutsche Lyrikim Dialog. Ed. byKAREN LEEDER.(German Moni tor, 69)Amsterdam: Rodopi. 2007. 541PP. Elo. ISBN978-90-420-2282-9. Thisvolumeincludes texts aboutupheavalsin modern Germany with metaphorsthat also expresstheglobalization of ideas,techniques, and problems. KarenLeeder's introduction knits together approaches to individual poets, specific themes, col lections ofpoetry, and an underlying concern with language. Reading theseven sections of lyrics reveals metaphorsthat explorethesensitivities ofpoetsseemingly uncomfortable inworldsof languagefloating free among multiplepotentialasso ciations.Poets struggle againstthreats of intrusion bynaturaland technological forces, suppression of individuality, and lesslinguistic precision.'Wir wissennicht, wohinwir gehn' (p. 506),writes VolkerBraun,lookingforward, whileLutzSeiler attacksfalse promises of thepast: 'keinIlabyrinth & keinechandoshysterien, nur wortgeruch & falsche nelken'(p.263). Anna Chiaronicapturesthecentral problem writingaboutHeinz Czechowski: 'Das Ich als gequalter Korper des europaischen Menschen istzugleichbesetztes Gehirn,dem alteUtopien ins Gedachtnisschallen. Und dasGedichtgewahrt, was hinter demHorizontverschwindet' (p.44).Christine Cosentinoemphasizes Volker Braun's revelation of thecontradictory, frightening natureof the modernworld, especiallyinhis volumeTumulus(1999).Gerrit-Jan Berendse focusesonAdolf Endler'sadaptation ofsurrealism fusing pastandpresent. Inamore critical, perceptive essay HermannKorteshowshow intensive reading ofGottfried Benn andPaulCelan incited debatesaboutaesthetic autonomy. Thus 290 Reviews DursGruinbein's use ofpoetrytofend offtheintrusion of reality on his sensitivity contrasts with Wolfgang Thuimler's understanding ofpoetry asan interplay between breathing and language, whereas PeterWaterhouse sees the poem as a form of Ja cob's ladder from another world. For Thomas Kling thepoem as a formofmemory demanding performance takes Celan'spoeticsa stepfurther, while MarcelBeyerun derstands howCelan's staccatostyle reflects thespeechqualitiesofpoeticlanguage. GeorginaPaul,exploring affinities betweenFriederike Mayrocker'stextual con structs and Elke Erb's processual writing with poetic tensionand coherent pat terninginUnschuld, du LichtmeinerAugen (1994), showshowmuch Erbwas inspired bymeeting Mayrockerin1991.Paul's analysis pointsconvincingly toself regeneration that went beyondmutual influence, theirpoetryprovidingcloser integration and understanding. Michael Eskin presents,at timesspeculatively, Durs Grunbein's involvement withOsip Mandelstam's description ofDante as 'the Descartes ofmetaphor'and imaginative involvement withDescartes inVom Schneeoder Descartesin Deutschland(2003).Eskinclaimsthat metaphorseenas a figureof time rather than logic enables the poet to slip in and out ofmasks without losing hisownpersonality. Clichesplayfully allowreaders toappreciate theinteraction betweenlanguage and thought, accordingtoKatrinKohl,who definestheir use byErnstJandl, Andreas Okopenko,andOskar Pastior, but does not sufficiently considertheir power in performance. lainGalbraitharguesthat Raoul Schrott'stexts createa paradoxical, unique role formetaphor in the development of language and the emergence of consciousness. Karen Leeder highlights a poeticsof correspondence with a new senseofdialoguein UlrikeDraesner'skugelblitz (2005),relates thistoothers' work, and reveals her as more than a poet of love. Sound and associative language com bine to produce poems that are both a process and experimental instruments. This iswell amplifiedinRuthOwen's examination ofbodies incontemporary poetry giving them an interior voice as a location of being. Kathrin Schmidt and Barbara Kohlerexpresstensions betweenthe private andpoliticalinchildhood memoriesin the GDR, accordingto Maurizio Pirro. HeikeBarteluses 'bypasses' tocircumscribe thecomplexities ofAnneDuden's prosepoemHerzgange(2000),where metaphors open up meanings redolent of thepoet's own past inGermany and England. In conversation withAnna Chiaroni,Heinz Czechowskihighlights differences between poets inEast and WestGermany, explaining howpoetryconveys personal andgeneralfeelings oftenincontrast withpoliticalrealities. Wolfgang Ertlexamines childhoodin WolfKirsten'spost-unification lyrics that express bothan idyllic lost world and harshrealities. Suchpoetryavoidssentimentality, and uses traditional methods toconveygriefand anger. CherylDueck's challenging essayon Brigitte Oleschinskiemphasizeslanguage crossing cultural boundariesinherrecent works. Poetic language breaks on uncertainties in the inner self,but can provide a secondary orality paralleltoinnocencein Kleist's Marionettentheater, toachieveintersections of time and transference into performance art.Anneka Metzger...