author
Johannes Schlaf
1862–1941
A key voice in German Naturalism, this playwright, novelist, and translator helped bring a sharper, more realistic style to late 19th-century literature. He is also remembered for introducing many German readers to writers such as Walt Whitman, Émile Zola, and Émile Verhaeren.
5 Audiobooks
Die Familie Selicke: Drama in drei Aufzügen
by Arno Holz, Johannes Schlaf
Frühling
by Johannes Schlaf
Religion und Kosmos
by Johannes Schlaf
In Dingsda
by Johannes Schlaf
Stille Welten: Neue Stimmungen aus Dingsda
by Johannes Schlaf
About the author
Born in Querfurt on June 21, 1862, Johannes Schlaf became an important figure in German Naturalism. He worked as a playwright, author, and translator, and his early literary partnership with Arno Holz played a notable role in shaping the movement's close attention to everyday speech and social reality.
Schlaf's reputation rests especially on his dramatic and prose writing from the 1880s and 1890s. Alongside his original work, he was influential as a translator, helping introduce German-speaking readers to major international writers including Walt Whitman, Émile Zola, and Émile Verhaeren.
Later in life he spent time away from the literary center, eventually returning to Querfurt, where he died on February 2, 1941. Today he is remembered as a distinctive bridge between German literature and wider modern literary currents.