Laurynas Katkus brings to these poems in Bootleg Copy a broad range of historical and literary acumen. His learning - he is a polyglot with Russian, Lithuanian, English, and German literature at the budding finger-tip of his tongue - combined with an intense lyrical and emotional energy, gives his "flashbacks" and often personal narratives a nuanced understory that a reader or listener could explore for years. And yet the translucent surface, the clear, classical cadence of the vignettes of many of his poems, are readily ...
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Laurynas Katkus brings to these poems in Bootleg Copy a broad range of historical and literary acumen. His learning - he is a polyglot with Russian, Lithuanian, English, and German literature at the budding finger-tip of his tongue - combined with an intense lyrical and emotional energy, gives his "flashbacks" and often personal narratives a nuanced understory that a reader or listener could explore for years. And yet the translucent surface, the clear, classical cadence of the vignettes of many of his poems, are readily accessible at a first reading. Katkus doesn't indulge himself with playful and experimental obscurity, but rather goes to the heart and intelligence of post-Soviet Lithuanian reality, and the evolving landscape of a very hesitant EU Europe, especially Germany where he has spent considerable time and is a widely popular poet among the younger generation. No doubt his familiarity with Benn, Rilke, and Benjamin, help give him and his poetry access to a very contemporary mind-set, and way of being. For those who relish romantic poems that are well-wrought, intense, and sincere, open this book. For those who prefer a prosodic journey through the evolving energy of a contemporary Lithuania, open this book. And for those who wish to "bend over the steering wheel" of much of contemporary Europe and see "the cats-eye glitter in the asphalt," then open this book, and the streets of these poems are essentially yours.
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