author
Klabund
1890–1928
A restless, inventive voice of early 20th-century German literature, this writer moved between poetry, novels, journalism, and drama with unusual speed and range. His work drew on Expressionism, satire, and adaptations from Asian literature, and his play The Chalk Circle later helped inspire Bertolt Brecht.
2 Audiobooks
About the author
Born Alfred Henschke in Crossen an der Oder in 1890, he wrote under the name Klabund, a pseudonym often explained as blending the ideas of a mischievous spirit and a wanderer. He became known as a German Expressionist poet, novelist, playwright, and journalist, building a remarkably large body of work during a life cut short in 1928.
Klabund wrote across many forms, including lyric poetry, fiction, essays, and plays. Britannica notes his strong interest in adapting and translating non-Western literature, and he is especially remembered for Der Kreidekreis (The Chalk Circle), a 1924 play that later inspired Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle.
His life was shaped by chronic illness: tuberculosis struck him when he was young and remained a constant presence. During and after World War I, his public stance changed dramatically, moving from early enthusiasm for the war to outspoken opposition, a shift that became part of his literary reputation as well as his personal story.