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Else Lasker-Schüler

エルゼ・ラースカー＝シューラー

Else Lasker-Schüler

Pen Names: Prince Yussuf（An alternative persona she used in performance and some writings.）, Birth name: Elisabeth (Elisabeth) Schüler（Her birth name. She later published under Else Lasker-Schüler.）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1869-02-11 （Elberfeld (now Wuppertal)）
Died
1945-01-22 （Jerusalem (then Mandatory Palestine)） age 75
Nationality
German
Languages
German
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
Elberfeld (birthplace) → Berlin (1890s–1920s) → Zurich (exile stopover) → Jerusalem (moved 1934, died 1945)

Career

Occupations
poet, playwright, writer
Active Years
1899-1945
Influenced By
Herwarth Walden, Karl Kraus, Peter Hille, Gottfried Benn
Influenced
Hugh MacDiarmid, Yehuda Amichai, Margarete Schweikert, Luise Schulze-Berghof, Lily Reiff

Education

Lyceum West an der Aue (attended, later left)
Period: 1880年代（児童期〜青年期）
Country: North German Confederation / Germany
After leaving school she received private tutoring at home.

Awards

Kleist Prize
1932
Organization: Kleist Prize awarding body
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Styx

1902 poetry

Her first volume of poetry containing symbolic and experimental poems that helped establish her reputation.

lovedeathsymbolism
Translations

Der siebente Tag

1905 poetry

An early poetry volume marked by fantastical imagery and intense emotion.

fantasyreligious imagery

Meine Wunder

1911 poetry

Published in 1911, this collection helped establish her as a leading female representative of Expressionism.

expressionismlovemythic motifs

Gesammelte Gedichte

1917 Collected poems

A 1917 collection encompassing many of her poems.

varied themes

My Blue Piano

1943 poetry

A late collection printed in exile in Jerusalem in a limited edition, dealing with loneliness and separation.

exilenostalgiaseparation
Translations
  • English translation (e.g. My Blue Piano, translated by Brooks Haxton, 2015)

Die Wupper

1909 play

Written in 1908 and published in 1909, this play draws on her father's image; first performed in 1919.

familysocial critique

Das Peter-Hille-Buch

1906 prose

A 1906 prose work published after the death of her close friend Peter Hille.

friendshipmourning

Die Nächte der Tino von Bagdad

1907 prose

A prose collection incorporating oriental motifs and fantastical narratives.

orientalismfantasy

Bibliography

  • Styx (1902)
  • Der siebente Tag (1905)
  • Meine Wunder (1911)
  • Gesammelte Gedichte (1917)
  • Das Peter-Hille-Buch (1906)
  • Die Nächte der Tino von Bagdad (1907)
  • Die Wupper (1909)
  • Mein blaues Klavier (1943)

Adaptations

  • Ich räume auf (1979, film/TV)
  • My Heart Is Mine Alone (1997, film)

Translations of Works

  • My Blue Piano (English translation by Brooks Haxton, 2015)
  • Star in my Forehead (selected poems, translated by Janine Canan, 2000)
  • Hebrew Ballads and Other Poems (translations, 1980)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Expressionistelements of Symbolismfree verse and neologisms
Recurring Motifs
lovebiblical/religious motifsoriental imageryexile and loneliness

Health

  • depression
    1927頃〜1930年代
    Became severe after the death of her son in 1927, significantly affecting her life and work.
  • heart attack
    1945年1月（致命的）
    Suffered a heart attack on 16 January 1945 and died shortly afterward on 22 January 1945.

Legacy

Else Lasker-Schüler is regarded as one of the leading female poets of German Expressionism; her work is known for religious and oriental motifs and daring linguistic experiments. Her exile and Jewish experience continue to influence scholarship and literature.

Academic Societies

  • Else Lasker-Schüler Society (Wuppertal)

Archives

  • Else Lasker-Schüler Archive (Jerusalem)
  • German National Library (catalogue of works)

In Popular Culture

  • Depicted in films such as 'Mein Herz – niemandem!' (1997)
  • Celebrated with a Google Doodle in 2020
  • Commemorated by a street name in Jerusalem (Rehov Else), memorials and a school in Wuppertal

Quotes

  • Your soul, which loveth mine, Is woven with it into a Tibetan-rug. Strand by strand, enamoured colours, Stars that courted each other across the length of heavens. Our feet rest on the treasure Stitches-thousands-and-thousands-across. Sweet lama-son on your musk-plant-throne How long has your mouth been kissing mine, And cheek to cheek colorfully woven times?
    Source: Poem 'Ein alter Tibetteppich' (An old Tibetan rug) (1910)

Trivia

  • She used an alternative persona called 'Prince Yussuf' in performances and writings.
  • She is credited with inventing the pseudonym 'Herwarth Walden' used by her second husband.
  • Though awarded the Kleist Prize in 1932, she suffered Nazi persecution as a Jewish writer and eventually emigrated to Jerusalem.
  • She is buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.
  • Honored with a Google Doodle on 7 February 2020.