Das Gedicht
German - in comparison to English - being a relatively small language, periodicals, almanacs, and anthologies play an important role in negotiating the most current developments in its contemporary poetry.
[9] Hence, DAS GEDICHT has often been the root of an international public discourse on the role of poetry in the contemporary world, particularly in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Luxembourg.
It also serves as an important archive of contemporary poetry and is a part of a poetic culture of collective memory: for instance, the magazine has published the last poems by Karl Krolow.
DAS GEDICHT attracted international attention; when it released a listing of Poets of the Century (Vol 7, 1999/2000), which has been published and republished several million times worldwide.
"[19] With DAS GEDICHT in view, the critic and member of the Group 47, Joachim Kaiser, said in the Bayerischer Rundfunk: "Suddenly, we are beginning to understand how important poetry can be.
On grounds of obscenity, various branches within the German book market boycotted the sale of DAS GEDICHT Volume 8, which was centered on erotic poetry.
[34] While intended to simply feature erotic poetry by major contemporary German, Austrian, and Swiss poets, the edition was misunderstood by many in the reading public, who claimed it was pornographic.
In Dachau a recipient poet was so offended by the volume, so that he wrote to the editor, claiming that in the future he'd rather invest in an additional sachet full of Weißbier than to buy another copy of DAS GEDICHT.
The Swiss poet and reformed pastor, Kurt Marti,[41] himself featured in the volume, gave the amused remarks that the edition had brought together 'a most multifaceted collection of poems.
While many poetry magazines are purely interested in the art form, without reflecting its role in society, the circle associated with DAS GEDICHT has emphasized the public status of poetic expression from the beginning.
In cooperation with the literary scholar Ulrich Johannes Beil, DAS GEDICHT initiated a widely followed debate on, "Is there such a thing as a European poem?
[62][63] The critic and member of the Group 47, Joachim Kaiser, dedicated a larger portion of his radio broadcast, in order to give this debate a national audience.
[64] In October 1999, Anton G. Leitner on behalf of the editorial board of DAS GEDICHT demanded in a public notice that the Humboldt University of Berlin abnegate the PhD title from the German literary scholar Elisabeth Frenzel (author of the standard reference book Daten deutscher Dichtung) on grounds of antisemitic tendencies in her dissertation.
Anton G. Leitner, speaking on behalf of DAS GEDICHT, requested that Grass donate the revenues from his autobiographical book Häuten der Zwiebel to victims of the holocaust.
Leitner told a German national newspaper: Grass could "easily show that he is in no way financially interested in profiting from his literary investigation of his own involvement with the Waffen-SS.
By printing verses onto millions of little sugar pouches and baguette bags, for instance, DAS GEDICHT contributed to raising public awareness for poetry as an art form.
It featured readings from sixty major poets from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Luxemburg, such as Friedrich Ani, Joachim Sartorius, Ulrike Draesner, Franz Xaver Kroetz, Paul Maar, Matthias Politycki, Said [de], and Robert Schindel.
[77][78] At a colloquium titled "Die Zukunft der Poesie" (The Future of Poetry) several poets gave speeches, among them Paul-Henri Campbell, Christophe Fricker, Uwe Michael Gutzschhahn, Klára Hůrková, Erich Jooß, and Anatoly Kudryavitsky.
It contains texts previously published under the same title on dasgedichtblog.Lustful Things - Geile Sachen on dasgedichtblog The magazine has maintained a website since 1995 and operates a YouTube channel since October 2009.
