author
Arno Holz
1863–1929
A bold voice of German Naturalism, he pushed poetry and drama toward a sharper, more modern realism. Best known for Phantasus, he spent his career experimenting with form and arguing that art should come as close to life as possible.
1 Audiobook
Die Familie Selicke: Drama in drei Aufzügen
by Arno Holz, Johannes Schlaf
About the author
Born on April 26, 1863, in Rastenburg, East Prussia, Arno Holz grew up in a family that later moved to Berlin. He left school for financial reasons and worked as a journalist before making his way as a freelance writer.
Holz became an important figure in German Naturalism as a poet, dramatist, and critic. He collaborated with Johannes Schlaf and was closely linked to the literary debates of late 19th-century Berlin, helping shape a style that aimed for intense realism and a new, modern language for literature.
He is best remembered for Phantasus, the poetry cycle most often named as his major work. Holz died in Berlin in October 1929, leaving behind a body of work that influenced the development of modern German literature.