Poetische Tier- und Naturwahrnehmung in der Lyrik Christian Lehnerts zwischen Subjekt- und Objektbezug am Beispiel zweier Gedichte zum Eisvogel

The article provides a close reading of two poems by Christian Lehnert about the animal ‘Eisvogel’ (kingsfisher) and sheds light on a central element of his poetics. Many of his poems, it can be argued, not only evoke a natural phenomenon but also thematise and problematise the act of perception and the relationship between inner und outer world in a self-reflexive manner. Traditional cultural concepts such as the mystical practice of contemplation and a divine transcendence of nature prove to be points of reference in Lehnert’s poems and shape the speaker’s perception. Lehnert gives these traditions a new relevance by dealing with them in a creative and transformative way. The analyses are framed with concepts and concerns of literary animal studies as well as poetological statements by the poet. The article also attempts to answer what ethical implications his poetry conveys in relation to the human-animal relationship in the Anthropocene and, closely related to this, what Lehnert’s poetry contributes to the search for non-anthropocentric modes of representation in contemporary poetry.