Armin Mueller-Stahl, the world-famous German actor, has also long been known as a gifted poet and painter. After the successful Die Blaue Kuh (The Blue Cow), his new, large volume Der wien Vogel fliegen kann features another one of Mueller-Stahl's political poems, which the artist joins with expressive painting to create a powerful overall composition.

The first part of the poem, which is laced with innuendo, dates from the year 1968. As a metaphor for a life behind the Wall during the East German era, it brought the artist trouble with the GDR's Ministry of State Security. The second part, which traces an arc from German history to dictatorships all over the world, was written in 2016 and will be published for the first time in this book. Together with the partly figurative, partly abstract works of art Mueller-Stahl adds to each line, words and images combine to make a very personal comment on the current state of the world.

ARMIN MUELLER-STAHL (*1930, Tilsit) is a multiple award-winning world-class actor. His musical and artistic expressiveness is also remarkable. Among his previous publications published by Hatje Cantz are Arbeiten auf Papier (2014), The Blue Cow (2016), and Der wien Vogel fliegen kann (2018).