Else Lasker-Schüler

Else Lasker-Schüler (born February 11, 1869 in Elberfeld, Wuppertal; died January 22, 1945 in Jerusalem) was a German Jewish poet.

Works

Else Lasker-Schüler left behind an extensive collection of poetry, three plays and, in terms of prose, short sketches and stories as well as letters and documents. During her lifetime her poems were published both in various magazines, such as for example her second husband's magazine Der Sturm or Karl Kraus' Fackel, and also in a large number of volumes of poetry which she compiled and, in some cases, illustrated herself. These included:

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• Styx (first published volume of poetry, 1902)
• Der siebente Tag (second volume of poetry, 1905)
• Meine Wunder (first edition, 1911)
• Gesammelte Gedichte (1917)
• Mein blaues Klavier (1943)

Else Lasker-Schüler wrote her first and most important play, Die Wupper, in 1908. It was published in 1909 and the first performance took place on April 27, 1919 at the Deutsche Theater in Berlin.

Related Topics:
1908 - 1909 - April 27 - 1919 - Berlin

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A large part of her work is composed of love poetry, but there are also deeply religious poems and prayers. Transitions between the two are often quite fluid. Her later work above all is rich in Biblical and oriental motifs. Lasker-Schüler was very free with regard to the external rules of poetic form, however her works thereby achieve a greater inner concentration. She was also not averse to linguistic neologisms.

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A good example of her poetic art is "Ein alter Tibetteppich" ("An old Tibetan rug"), a poem which was reprinted many times after its first publication in Sturm, the first of these being in Fackel

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