Else Lasker-Schüler (1869–1945) is widely regarded as one of the most important German poets of the 20th century. Born in Elberfeld and later at the heart of Berlin’s Expressionist circles, she forged a fiercely independent artistic identity through poetry, plays, prose, and drawings. A central figure at Café des Westens and in the avant-garde journal Der Sturm, she assumed poetic alter egos such as Prince Yussuf and Tino of Baghdad to explore themes of love, longing, and myth. Her work was celebrated by contemporaries including Franz Marc, Karl Kraus, and Georg Trakl, who all recognised her as a singularly visionary voice.

Her 1912 book My Heart transforms personal turmoil into art, mixing letters, masquerades, and myth into an audacious, intimate portrait of Expressionist Berlin. Hailed by Deutsche Welle as one of the “100 German must-reads in English translation,” it remains among her most enduring and revealing work.