Author’s note: My father, Werner Schulz, passed away last January after a long battle with cancer. He was a retired German professor who taught German language and literature as well as the occasional course on Folklore. He left me his collected creative works which are unpublished except his dissertation on Johannes Bobrowski, an East German early 20th century poet. Over the past year I’ve chosen to translate some of his “fairytale” pieces from German into English.
Koan
translated by Kerstin Schulz
Winged dragons speak
A yellow-bellied eloquence,
A koan without wisdom,
Fork-tongued treasures.
Oversized, too heavy to fly,
Reeling on a meadow of gold,
Tell how a laughable fairytale tailor
With brave clever tricks overcomes
A unicorn, two giants and a boar.
But then how to hold on to
Moonlight in the evergreens
Once a cedar scented memory?
Untitled
by Werner Schulz
Geflügelte Drachen da
Redend mit gelbem Bauch
Widerspruch ohne Wissen
Gespaltener Zunge Schätze
Übergewichtig zum Fliegen zu schwer
Nur noch taumelnd auf goldener Heide
Lächerlich tapferes Schneiderlein
Das Einhorn das Wildschwein die Riesen
Mit pfiffigem Leichtsinn waghalsig gewonnen.
Aber wie denn zu halten
Mondlicht durch Tannen
Erinnerung einst als Zederngeruch?
—About the Translator—
Kerstin Schulz is a German American writer living in Portland, Oregon. After her father, Werner Schulz, died in January 2024, she began translating a selection of his unpublished German poems. Kerstin and Werner also translated several of her English poems into German before his death; one was published by Amethyst Review. Kerstin’s poetry can be found in Cirque, The Bookends Review, River Heron Review, and Cathexis NW Press, as well as in the anthology Here There Be Dragons (Hiraeth Publishing, 2024), among other publications.
—About the Author—
Werner Schulz (1939-2024) was born in Breslau, East Prussia. In 1961 he immigrated to Klamath Falls, Oregon from East Germany. In 1965 Werner, his wife Heidi and daughter Kerstin, moved to Eugene, Oregon where he eventually earned a PhD from the University of Oregon in German Language and Literature. He taught at Kenyon College for four years before taking a position at Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina where he later became the department Chair. Werner found great joy in teaching German and studying folktales as well as writing and translating poetry.
—About the Illustration—
ChatGPT input:
Be My AI description:
The image depicts a whimsical and enchanting scene of a small, green dragon perched on a tree branch. The dragon has a vibrant green body with scales that shimmer, and its underbelly is a bright golden yellow. It has two wings that are also green with golden highlights. The dragon’s head is adorned with small, horn-like protrusions, and it has a friendly, curious expression. The tree it is resting on has a thick, textured trunk and branches with lush green needles. The background is a soft, mystical green, and there are small glowing orbs scattered throughout, resembling fireflies or magical lights, adding to the magical atmosphere of the scene.
Wunderbar!