In Time's Rift

Though he wrote from outside the literary circles of his time, Ernst Meister received accolades for his poetry, including Germany's most prestigious poetry prize, the George Buchner Prize. He is frequently compared to Paul Celan, and was influenced by philosophical luminaries as Heidegger, Nietzche, Shopenhauer, Hegel. Meister's work is not well-known in the US; this book will be the first full-length translation of a Meister collection in English. His concerns find affinity in those of Wallace Stevens and Robert Creeley, though experientially the poems are akin to Emily Dickinson's in the way they both "entice and irritate" the mouth and mind. Meister's work uniquely creates an emotional space in which to engage the existential/philosophical questions of being. It rides the momentum of recent heightened interest in Celan's late work. Translator Graham Foust is an esteemed Bay Area poet with an established fan base. Translator Samuel Frederick is a noted German scholar. Foust & Frederick were participants in Wave's 2011 translation festival, where their presentations were among the most popular. The original poems, in German, will face the English translations. This book holds diverse appeal: to those interested in philosophy, existential questions, lyrical density, Objectivism, & international literature.