Jan Wagner’s view of things

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Jan Wagner is a German poet closely associated with the Objectivist line of contemporary literature. Born in 1971, the translator of American and English classics published in our country two very interesting anthologies, Variations on the rain Barrel (Einaudi, 2019) and Self-portrait with bees (Bompiani, 2022), both translated by Federico Italian. Wagner is now considered one of the greatest European authors and moves in a dazzling area full of koalas, mulberries, tennis balls, carp, fences and trophies.

A descriptive and ironic poem

A descriptive and ironic poem (always in lower case), suspended between Larkin and Auden. Here is the essay on mosquitoes, which is exemplary in this sense: “As if all the letters / had suddenly detached themselves from the newspaper / and were like a swarm in the air; // They stand in the air like a swarm, / without even bringing bad news, / precarious muses, skeleton pegasus, // they only whisper to themselves; made / from the last cloud of smoke when / the candle goes out”. Wagner recently received the “Città di Pescara – Sinestetica 2023” award.

“The Happy Moment,” explains the poet, who comes from Hamburg and lives in Berlin, “is my latest book: a collection of prose written on various occasions, including some poetry lessons on authors such as Dylan Thomas, Inger Christensen and Eugenio Montale, studies.” by much-admired poets like Keats (buried in Rome, of course), eulogies and eulogies. The title of the work is dedicated to photography and the attraction it has for many writers.

As expected, Wagner’s texts are populated by objects and animals: a kind of passion for the non-human can be felt. “But I hasten to add that people also appear in my poems (including historical figures, possible or impossible family members, and of course the lyric self, that ever-evolving speaking mask). However, I often like to use plants, animals and inanimate objects such as a saw, a tea bag, sheets or a glass of milk as a starting point. I feel that if you focus on the object in question long enough, if you allow yourself to be guided by your observations and the language that emerges from them, sooner or later this passion for the non-human will produce a surprising vision of ourselves becomes whole. Even human passions in the narrower sense, perhaps even more than addressing them directly…”

“Poet of the View”

Wagner was defined by critics as a “poet of the gaze”: capable, that is, of producing “modest” vision of the surrounding reality, linking it to revelations and revelations. “I like looking at things,” he continues, until a new perspective (if I’m lucky) becomes apparent. And I believe that, among the beauties of literature, this is one of the greatest: when a poem is successful, it can hold the reader (and the author’s point of view) about a particular object, a word, a theme, and itself forever and ever change . . , i.e. adding another aspect to the world, making it richer, perhaps even having a calming effect.” As with all current Central European authors, his poetry was in a way inspired by Hans Magnus Enzensberger, who died in November 2022. « It is hard not to be influenced by Enzensberger and impossible not to admire him as a poet, critical thinker and innovator. I read Enzensberger’s poems carefully when I started writing. I was amazed at the wit, boldness and breadth of the subject matter, and I can clearly see how and where I learned from him. It should be added that Enzensberger served as a role model with his monumental achievements as an anthologist and also as a translator. As for other points of reference, however, I have drawn inspiration from English-speaking, British and American poets; Names include Dylan Thomas, WH Auden, Wallace Stevens, Elizabeth Bishop, Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney…”