I Am Not

Translated from English by Heike Geißler, Sylvia Geist, Björn Kuhligk, Monika Rink and Ulf Stolterfoht
With a preface by Ulf Stolterfoht

An impressive, hard-hitting debut that finds words for pain, loss and marginalisation
Whether in Damascus or Berlin, no matter in which language, Sam Zamrik has always written as a means of survival. His first book testifies to this: I Am Not is the debut of a poet who has endured hell many times over and has lost almost everything, even his own identity. But his losses are offset by the wealth of his language and its extensive range – from church music solemnity to heavy metal edginess. Shifting between baroque and succinct imagery, he writes about his experience of war and having to flee, and feelings of not existing or being seen. In doing so, he transforms I Am Not into an audible ‘I am.’ This is a poet who suffers, accuses, hopes and lives with intelligence and energy that is both moving and impressive.


“Sam Zamrick’s debut is a poetic imposition. It imposes his wounds and his genius on us.” Annika Reich