Fotopoesie (Michael Will)

Photo-poems were a feature of German illustrated magazines in the 1920s and 1930s but were later lost in oblivion. The illustrated book FOTOPOESIE presents this popular art form for the first time, with a selection revealing astonishing intermedia creativity: The twenty annotated chapters range from the cycle of the seasons to work, film, sport, transport and advertising to the major themes of love and politics. Great poets such as Mascha Kaléko, Erich Kästner and Joachim Ringelnatz come together with the great photographic artists of their time, including Yva, Umbo and Sasha Stone. Language and photographic poetry combine to create fascinating works of art whose documentation here closes a gap in media and cultural history.

• Rediscovery of an intermedia art form
• Poetry in words and images
• Interdisciplinary research on the photo-poem as an independent genre

Michael Will, Universität Würzburg