Witty and wise, playful and philosophical, the poems and other short writings of German poet Michael Augustin are instantly recognisable and not easily forgotten. In his most substantial English-language volume to date (translated by Indian poet Sujata Bhatt, who is also Augustin's wife), the poems, mini plays and short prose pieces that make up Mickle Makes Muckle are typically terse but luminous, and always, it would appear, somewhat puzzled by the strange fact of their existence-no doubt one of the many reasons they seem to speak so directly to the reader.