Christian Morgenstern

Born in Munich on May 6, 1871, Christian Morgenstern became one of the most distinctive German poets of his time. He worked as a writer, journalist, and translator, and is especially remembered for witty, absurd, sharply musical poems that delighted in twisting language into unexpected shapes.

His best-known collection, Galgenlieder (Gallows Songs), made him famous for comic verse, but that was only part of his work. He also wrote more serious and lyrical poetry, and his life was deeply affected by chronic illness, which led him to spend long periods traveling through Germany, Switzerland, and Italy in search of better health.

Morgenstern died on March 31, 1914, in Merano. Though he had limited success during much of his lifetime, his poems went on to become enduring favorites in German literature, admired for their humor, precision, and strange, memorable imagination.