Shining Sheep: Poems

by Ulrike Almut Sandig, Karen Leeder (Translator)

A collection of vital, melancholic, elemental, and vibrantly contemporary poems.

In the beginning, was the light, or was it the Lumières? In Ulrike Almut Sandig’s latest volume of poetry, it is only a leap from the creation of the world to the symphony of the Berlin metropolis. And there is a question holding out off the coast of Can shining sheep be used as night storage for the dark hours, when we are overwhelmed with fears of God, of a gym teacher with a whistle, of mothers with eyes as black as coal? In devastating sequences, Sandig charts the reality of an abused child, victims of contemporary war, or a fourteenth-century Madonna. Full of humor, musicality, lightness, and rage, Shining Sheep is not just visual poetry—it has loops in your ear and filmic explosions of imagery for all your senses.

132 pages, Hardcover

Published March 7, 2024

Reviews

[Joseph Schreiber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each collection from German poet Ulrike Almut Sandig is a new experience. As a poet who collaborates with musicians and filmmakers, and contributes her work to exhibits and performance art projects, her work is never static. Shining Sheep is an especially dynamic work with many links to recordings and videos that bring her poems to life beyond the page. Taking inspiration from history, motherhood, film and more, she also includes, as ever, poems that reflect her concern for the fate of migrants and refugees. Sandig’s poetry is inventive, experimental, and always original.
A longer, more detailed review can be found here: https://roughghosts.com/2024/04/26/ke...

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this - though I found it tough reading. I’m glad I toughed it out. The notes at the end were very helpful in reflecting on the good work here. It challenged me and I’m glad for a challenge.