author
Ernst Wilhelm Lotz
1890–1914
A striking voice of early German Expressionism, he wrote with unusual intensity about modern life, desire, and the nearness of war. His career was cut tragically short when he was killed in 1914, leaving behind poems that feel urgent and vividly alive.
1 Audiobook
Wolkenüberflaggt: Gedichte
by Ernst Wilhelm Lotz
About the author
Born on February 6, 1890, in Culm on the Vistula in West Prussia, Ernst Wilhelm Lotz became one of the young poets associated with German Expressionism. He grew up in a military environment and later served as an officer, an experience that shaped the tension and force in his writing.
Lotz began publishing before the First World War and developed a poetic voice marked by energy, unease, and a sharp feel for the emotional pressure of modern life. His work has often been linked to the restless, visionary side of Expressionist poetry.
He died near Bouconville, France, on September 26, 1914, only a few weeks into World War I. Because his life ended so early, his body of work is small, but it has remained memorable for its intensity and for the sense of promise it leaves behind.