In Case of Loss

In Case of Loss gathers the best of LutzSeiler's non-fiction from last twenty-five years, revealing his essays to bedifferent to, but on a par with, his fiction and poetry. Seiler's beautifullyanecdotal and associative pieces throw fascinating light on literature and his background,not least the environmental and human catastrophe of the Soviet-era mining inthe community he grew up in, "the tired villages . . . beneath which lay the ore,uranium." Other essays focus on poetry, including his discovery of poetryduring his military service and pieces on German poets, including ErnstMeister, Jürgen Becker and Peter Huchel, whose former house, outside Berlin, isnow home to Lutz Seiler, after he broke and entered it with Huchel's widow'sblessing. Meanwhile, the title essay--a fascinating insight into creativeprocess--describes Huchel's notebook, a kind of dictionary of poetic images organisedby mood and location. Providing a perfect welcome in to his work asa whole, In Case of Loss sees one ofEurope's most original writers speak with openness and clarity in essays fullof insight, humanity and a poet's attention to the importance of oftenoverlooked objects and lives.