Poetry. In DREAM FLOW, a new collection of poetry by David Jaffin, one of the reasons we read poetry is redefined and clearly reinstated. "One reason why we read poems is because they refresh the language, because they bring words alive, and rub off the tarnish which accumulates in daily usage. This cleansing function is one of the most important the poet can exercise, though it is not necessarily the one which will make his work immediately popular. David Jaffin's characteristic sparseness and economy make the reader particularly keenly aware of his concern for good language, which means fresh and immediate language. He deserves to be read because he improves and extends the instrument he uses"--Edward Lucie-Smith.

Author City: Malmsheim GER

Dr. David Jaffin was born to a Jewish family in New York and studied History, Art History and Psychology at New York University, where he was awarded a Ph.D. At the age of 24 he went to Europe and did the unthinkable: a mere 16 years after Auschwitz he married a German woman, became a Christian, and embarked on the study of theology. After graduating from Tuebingen University, he became a Pastor in the Evangelical (i.e. Lutheran) Church, and then served as a minister for 20 years in Württemberg. After this he was granted freelance status in order to continue with his writing. He had already made himself a considerable reputation as a writer of sermons and religious texts, and he is now the author of dozens of prose books in German, including stories for children, as well as a large corpus of poetry in English.