Tonlose Lieder by Robert L. Kahn (review)

TONLOSE LIEDER BY ROBERT L. KAHN (Darmstadt: J. G. Bläschke, 1978. 94 pages.) Eight years after Robert L. Kahn's tragic death, his wife and son edited this volume of poetry. The former university professor was born in Germany; as a Jew, he experienced the holocaust and suffered in concentration camps. Accordingly, his poetry is overshadowed by his memories. Especially the second part of his poems, "nurnberg wunderschöne Stadt, ein zyklus," reminds one very intensely of Paul Celan's Death Fugue. The other two parts, "omega" and "da wo wir stehen," are also full of reminiscent memories which appear as montages mixed with more recent thoughts; they indicate drastically that the author could never free his mind ofthe nightmare of yesteryear. Given these facts and considering the editors' introductory explanations that Robert L. Kahn had only published a few poems before this posthumous volume one would be inclined to abstain from evaluating esoteric literary specifics. Yet, there is more to this poet's creations than a pitiful contemplation of a destroyed life. With irony and gallow humor, Robert L. Kahn succeeds in maintainingthe distance between the obvious and the sublime; there is something magical and attractive in his lines that overcomes the limitation of the moment. The entire volume transmits a simultaneously devastating and hopeful message. By the same token, the various forms applied by the poet—ballade, ode, rhymeless poetry, montage—lay proof to his skilful repertoire. Peter Kahn's graphic illustrations complement his father's mood very sensitively. As a family affair this work definitely overcomes the petty confinements of a private matter. PETER PABISCH* •PETER PABISCH is an Associate Professor of German and Chairman of the Comparative Literature Program at the University of New Mexico. He has an interest in German literature and culture with a tendency to emphasize Austrian affairs. VOL. 34. NO. 1 (WINTER 1980) ...