Michael Lentz
Germany
Michael Lentz, born in 1964, studied German language and literature, history and philosophy, and in 1999 was awarded a doctorate for his two-volume dissertation Lautpoesie/-musik nach 1945. Eine kritisch-dokumentarische Bestandsaufnahme. In 2001, he was awarded the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize for his text
Michael Lentz’s performances are powerful, precisely staged, yet never predictable confrontations with our language. Humans attempt to communicate something they perceive as meaningful using the limited means of language – Michael Lentz makes this tangible in a rarely intense way, as stated in the jury’s justification for the Literaturhäuser Prize. Lentz questions the descriptive power of words; he relies on language as language, not on language as a representational mechanism. What emerges from this in the poetic process is a brittle, stubborn, yet witty and highly intelligent way of speaking and writing. A dose of (linguistic) doubt, administered in this quality, has never done anyone any harm.
In his programme «Present Perfect. Spoken Music» with Gunnar Geisse, he will once again be bringing unique soundscapes blending jazz, electronic and experimental music to Leukerbad.
31st Leukerbad International Literary Festival:
