Territories of the Soul / On Intonation by Wolfgang Hilbig

“Wolfgang Hilbig is an artist of immense stature.” —László Krasznahorkai

"Expertly Translated" — Regan Mies, at Los Angles Review of Books

A beach polluted by caustic sludge, a forest strewn with gun emplacements, a mirror projecting an émigré’s haunted reflection: these are some of the borders contemplated by Wolfgang Hilbig in Territories of the Soul/On Intonation. Published during the twilight years of the GDR, these collections find the renowned East German writer grappling with tectonic changes inside and around him. Moving between lyric poetry, personal essay, and gothic horror, Territories of the Soul/On Intonation showcases Hilbig's remarkable versatility and depth of feeling.

Born in 1941 in Meuselwitz, Thuringia, Wolfgang Hilbig is considered one of the most significant writers to emerge from the GDR. After spending his youth employed as a laborer and factory worker, he emigrated to West Germany in 1985. He received many of the most important literary awards in the German-speaking world, including the Georg Büchner and Ingeborg Bachmann Prizes. He died in 2007.

Matthew Spencer is a writer, editor, and translator. He is the founder of Paradise Editions. He lives in Philadelphia

Excerpts from Territories of the Soul/On Intonation

"The Stoker" Hilbig profiled in the Poetry Foundation by translator Matthew Spencer

"for n." a short lyrical poem by Hilbig in Firmament