Otto Buchmann

Born in Braunschweig in 1886, Otto Buchmann came from a north German farming family and later worked as a bookseller before turning to writing. Available biographical sources describe him as a poet and novelist, and note that he published his first volume of poetry in 1913.

He also had an unusual second career in sport: sources identify him as the 1908 German champion in the high jump. That mix of literary and athletic achievement gives his life a distinctive shape and helps him stand out among lesser-known German writers of his time.

Buchmann's surviving work includes Auf alten Wegen: Novellen, a collection now available through Project Gutenberg. The book has helped keep his name in circulation, even though many details of his later life remain hard to confirm from easily available sources.