Though generally aligned with the literary productions of the expressionists, her work also bears characteristics of Art Nouveau and neoromanticism. There is controversy about where to draw the line between her lyric prose and her poetry. Her two so-called novels, scrutinized rigorously, may turn out to have only narrative and length in common with this genre. Literary scholars continue to be attracted and challenged by her unusual life and her equally unique literary productions, but they have yet to penetrate the mysteries that shroud both.
Lasker-Schüler would probably be unhappy about attempts to bring her picture into focus since she dedicated her career to the obfuscation of factual reality. Truth, she knew, is hard to ascertain, and art, especially poetry, is one of the few means by which to approach it. "Lebe das Leben ja tableaumäßig, ich bin immer im Bilde.... Ich sehe also das Leben aus dem Bilde an; was nehme ich ernster von beiden? Beides. Ich sterbe am Leben und atme im Bilde wieder auf. Hurrah" (I live life according to a design. I am always in the picture.... Thus I look at life from the picture; what do I take more seriously? Both. I die from life and I recover in the picture.
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