eluding our grasp

What is this poem trying to tell me? This is usually the very first question we ask ourselves as we encounter a poem. If we fail to find an answer, we might hastily assume that we ‘don’t understand’ it and lose interest. But poems are more than the sum of the meanings attached to the words they contain. They offer us access to images, sounds, moods. What if we approach the poem with our senses, rather than with our minds? In the exhibition, we encounter the poem ‘Straw’ (‘Stroh’) by Monika Rinck, taken from her volume of poetry Honigprotokolle (2012).

The text of the poem detaches itself from the writing that contains it and forms a space in itself, admitting us to the poem, giving us the poem in sound, vision and touch – enabling us to experience it. Experience is invariably subjective; so the exhibition prompts you to explore what you experience. Experiment with the perceptions of your senses; engage in doubt; step out into unknown worlds. After all, we can ‘grasp’ a written text in innumerable different ways.