Matthias Politycki is one of the most important German-language writers of today, in the realm of fiction as well as poetry. As a self-confessed ‚postmodern romantic’, he deals with the adventures of everyday life, love and travel – death constantly in the background. Critics praise his lyrical output for its formal variety (from the sonnet to free verse to concrete poetry), for its artistry, playfulness, humour and wit. A combination of light-footed irony and serene melancholy makes his poems very accessible. Politycki’s passion for the absurd echoes the works of well-known poets such as Christian Morgenstern, Kurt Tucholsky, Erich Kästner, Peter Rühmkorf and Robert Gernhardt, and yet this very male author, by coupling the lofty and the low, cheekiness and tenderness, respect for tradition and modish jargon, reflection and experience, succeeds in producing a sound all of his own.