Reiner Kunze says his book, 'Kiss of the Koi', came into being from 'the melancholy of happy moments.' He calls it his '›counter-book‹, a book to counter the prevailing tone of ugliness, nastiness, brutality.' To accompany his reflections, Kunze spent four years taking photographs from the edge of his pond - at no time using an underwater camera. He created portraits of his colorful Japanese carp (Koi) that show the dignity and individual characteristics of each fish, a photographic accompaniment as unique as the fact that a poet would use a Koi as a point of departure to reflect on our animal nature. The author speaks of them as his 'allies.' Readers whose souls are not encased in a 'coat of chain mail armour' will feel this way about the book.weiterlesen