Ernst Jandl (1925–2000) is a spectacular phenomenon. For an avant-garde experimental lyric poet he achieved a completely unusual level of popularity. Poems such as ottos mops (‘fritz’s bitch’) have long been in common currency. It is not the case, as is often argued, that laughing at Jandl’s poems is not a coincidental effect of his
unusual use of language. There are multiple varieties of humour which Jandl transforms anew in his language. Despite this, the comic aspects of Jandl’s work have hardly been researched. Anne Uhrmacher uses careful analysis to get to the bottom of his unparalleled effectiveness.