""And where does that leave the positive?" Erich Kästner was asked time and again when he published his time-critical poems and columns. "Yes, the devil knows where that remains," he replied. It is not easy in this world to write literature that affirms life without ifs and buts; the many things that are in human and social disarray claim the attention of writers who want to portray life as realistically and unadorned as possible. And besides, the positive, if it does come to the fore now and then, is "not good material for poets," as the writer Robert Walser once observed. Nevertheless, we sometimes need news of happiness, want to read about positive experiences and adventures. And sometimes, despite all our misgivings, poets do us the favor. Hymns and eulogies that give us courage then behold.