This poem consists entirely of the word “Schützengraben” (trench); in the Viennese dialect, when all of the vowels are removed, it becomes “schtzngrmm.” The consonants rearrange themselves into new syllables that evoke machine-gun volleys and grenade strikes, painting an onomatopoetic picture of trench warfare. The text belongs to the tradition of concrete poetry and sound poetry and is one of the antiwar poems of the 1960s.

“schtzngrmm / schtzngrmm / t–t–t–t / t–t–t–t / grrrmmmmm / t–t–t–t / s–––––––––c–––––––––h / tzngrmm / tzngrmm / tzngrmm / grrrmmmmm / schtzn / schtzn / t–t–t–t / t–t–t–t / schtzngrmm / schtzngrmm / tssssssssssssss / grrt / grrrrrt / grrrrrrrrrt / scht / scht / t–t–t–t–t–t–t–t–t–t / scht / tzngrmm / tzngrmm / t–t–t–t–t–t–t–t–t–t / scht / scht / scht / scht / scht / grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr / t–tt”

The 35 lines of the poem are distributed across the pages of the book. Each page has only one line. Because of the transparency of the glassine paper, the previous and subsequent lines show through. The text is reversed on each left-hand page, and legible on each right-hand page. By choosing a sans serif font (Futura Bold Condensed) the lower case letters “t” are reminiscent of the crosses of fallen soldiers. The printed pages of the book have been “injured,” with 72 holes burned into them that evoke bullet holes. So each book is unique.

Hand-set (Futura Bold Condensed), letterpress, printed cloth-covered boards (18.2 x 21.2 cm) housed in a printed cloth-covered slipcase (18.8 x 21.7 x 1 cm), glassine and black paper, 78 pages, 25 numbered and signed copies, Flörsheim 2023

next