(born May 2, 1886, Mansfeld, Ger.—died July 7, 1956, Berlin) German poet and essayist. He received military medical training and was made medical supervisor of jail inmates and prostitutes in occupied Brussels during World War I.
His early poems, including those in Fleisch (1917; “Flesh”), contain allusions to degeneracy and medical aspects of decay. Because of his Expressionism and despite his right-wing views, he was penalized during the Nazi era. He regained literary attention with Statische Gedichte (1948; “Static Poems”) and the reappearance of his old poems. A broad selection of his poetry and prose was published in English as Primal Vision (1961).
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