Some books tell a story. Others embody an entire cultural space —almost as if a second, invisible book were running alongside them: the book of places, influences, and perspectives. Gino Pacifico's Sappho und das Blut des Flüchtlings belongs to this latter category. Anyone who reads this collection of poems quickly realizes: it's not just a theme that's present, but a backdrop that underpins the texts—Italy, Germany, and Europe.
What's fascinating is that Pacifico doesn't flaunt this cultural tension. He doesn't explain it didactically, he doesn't lay out a map. Instead, you sense it in the way he observes, the way he remembers, the way he connects the present to historical layers. This makes the reading experience surprising: you read about migration and belonging—and suddenly find yourself in the midst of questions that transcend the daily debate.
The silent power of the in-between
Pacifico writes from an experience many people know, but rarely find reflected in literature with such clarity: life between origin and present. Italy is not merely a label of origin. It is a resonating space of images, language, mentality, and memory. Germany, in turn, is not "the foreign" in the simple sense, but a place of long arrival—over decades. It is precisely from this combination that a perspective emerges that is neither purely internal nor purely external.
And this perspective has consequences: Those who view the world from the in-between often develop a sharper eye for nuances, for fractures, for what gets lost in grand narratives. This is particularly striking in poems about migration and identity , because poetry thrives on concision. A single verse can contain more cultural history than a page of essay—precisely because it doesn't explain everything.
Europe as an experience, not as a buzzword
In political debates, "Europe" is often discussed as a project or a problem. Pacifico, however, presents Europe more as a lived space: a continent of movements, transitions, borders – and recurring questions of responsibility. One senses that Europe is not merely decorative here, but rather a fundamental condition. In this understanding, migration is not an exception, but an integral part of what has shaped Europe over centuries.
That's precisely why the poetry collection feels so relevant without explicitly claiming to be topical. Instead of reacting to events, it points to patterns: how societies change when people come or go; how quickly political language becomes superficial; and how much moral outrage obscures the human element. This historical-European perspective on displacement is what gives the book its particular depth.
Italy in the texts: origin as tone, not as backdrop
The book's connection to Italy is rarely overtly emphasized. It lies more in the tone: in a sensitivity to landscape, in an attention to the concrete, in a way of treating history not as an abstract sequence, but as a living layer. Anyone who has read extensively or lived in Italy will recognize this quality: things are not merely named, they are embodied.
This is particularly relevant when dealing with themes like home or loss. Because origin isn't just a place – it's an inner compass. The poems make it clear that belonging doesn't disappear simply because you live somewhere else. It changes. It blends. And sometimes it clashes with new realities. It's precisely this friction that makes many of the texts so authentic.
Why this cultural background is important to us as a publishing house
As a publisher, we pay close attention to whether a book on socially relevant topics offers more than just a quick take on a particular issue. We're interested in whether a text can handle complexity – and whether it challenges the reader without overwhelming them. With Sappho und das Blut des Flüchtlings, we were convinced by the fact that cultural multifacetedness is presented not as a thesis, but as a genuine stance.
A volume of poetry that connects Italy and Germany through literature can achieve something that is missing in many debates: it creates closeness without appropriation. It makes differences visible without judging them. And it reminds us that Europe is not only a political space, but a space of biographies.
Those who engage with this book will not only read about flight and migration. They will read about the long process of belonging – and about how language can help us perceive this process in the first place. This is precisely where the book's compelling quality lies: its tone is calm, yet its scope is vast.
Sappho und das Blut des Flüchtlings by Gino Pacifico is available as a printed, paperback edition (ISBN 978-3-910347-02-1) and as an EPUB e-book (ISBN 978-3-910347-03-8) in bookstores or directly here in the publisher's shop.
