Best German Poets Ever

1 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German writer and statesman. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of metres and styles; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour; and four novels. In addition, numerous literary and scientific fragments, more than 10,000 letters, and nearly 3,000 drawings by him exist.

2 Bertolt Brecht Eugen Bertolt Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956) was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director of the 20th century. He made contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter through the tours undertaken by the Berliner Ensemble – the post-war theatre company ...read more.

3 Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (10 November 1759 – 9 May 1805) was a German poet, philosopher, physician, historian, and playwright.

4 Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke, better known as Rainer Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), was a Bohemian-Austrian poet and novelist, widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense German-language poets, writing in both verse and highly lyrical prose.

5 Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter.

6 Heinrich Heine

7 Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German philosopher, cultural critic, poet, and Latin and Greek scholar whose work has exerted a profound influence on Western philosophy and modern intellectual history.

8 Erich Kaestner

9 Heiner Mueller

10 Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski, born Heinrich Karl Bukowski (August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-born American poet, novelist, and short story writer.