author
Detlev von Liliencron
1844–1909
A German poet and novelist who brought a fresher, more vivid tone to late 19th-century literature, he drew on war, travel, and everyday life to create poems that still feel lively and direct. His work helped push German lyric poetry away from worn-out convention and toward something more modern.
1 Audiobook
Novellenbuch, 1. Band
by Conrad Ferdinand Meyer, Detlev von Liliencron, Friedrich Spielhagen, Ernst von Wildenbruch
About the author
Born in Kiel on June 3, 1844, Detlev von Liliencron served in the Prussian army and fought in the wars of 1866 and 1870–71, where he was wounded. After military service and periods of civil employment, he turned fully to writing and published his first major poetry collection, Adjutantenritte und andere Gedichte, in 1883.
Liliencron became known for verse that felt unusually fresh for its time: energetic, sharply observed, and less bound by the formal habits that had dominated much mid-19th-century German poetry. He also wrote novellas and other prose, but his reputation rests mainly on his lyric poetry and on the sense of immediacy he brought to it.
He died on July 22, 1909, in Alt-Rahlstedt near Hamburg. Later writers, including Rainer Maria Rilke, were influenced by his work, and he is still remembered as an important figure in the movement toward a more modern German poetic style.