Twilight of Humanity—A Journey Through German Expressionism's Literary Side
Horror, ecstasy, and apocalypse in the poetry of German Expressionism
I. About Twilight of Humanity and German Literary Expressionism
Nowadays, German Expressionism is best known for its horror films. THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920) and NOSFERATU (1922) have become foundational for cinema’s horror genre. And these movies have an enduring appeal: As I write this (April 2024), Nosferatu is being re-made for movie theaters for at least its second time.
After film, Expressionism is probably best known for its striking visual art. Inspired mainly by Vincent van Gogh and Edvard Munch, along with a few others, artists like Otto Dix, Käthe Kollwitz, George Grosz, Oskar Kokoschka, Egon Schiele, Alfred Kubin (the latter two Austrian), and more are routinely grouped under the Expressionist banner.
And then there’s Expressionist literature. Sadly, the least-known aspect of German Expressionism is the remarkable output of its writers. This is especially true in English-speaking countries, where much of the movement's literary work remains untranslated. Preeminent among Expressionism’s literary achievements was the 1919 publication of a large poetry anthology titled TWILIGHT OF HUMANITY ("Menschheitsdämmerung"). Its appearance marked an important moment in the history of 20th-century European literature.
Assembled by writer-editor Kurt Pinthus, Twilight of Humanity is “a collection widely, and perhaps justly, reputed to be the locus classicus and chief storehouse of relevant [Expressionist] texts," Ulrich Weisstein wrote in his 1981 “Anatomy of German Literary Expressionism.” And in a 1995 issue of The German Quarterly, Niel H. Donahue wrote, “The original publication of Twilight of Humanity (November 1919) was a literary-historical event of singular stature, defining in one compendious volume of lyric poetry the breadth and, arguably, also the shared essence of German Expressionism, through its most significant and representative literary genre."
Twilight of Humanity does not currently enjoy an in-print English edition. That’s where this Substack comes in.
Twilight of Humanity contained 278 poems by 23 poets across nearly 290 pages. The book decisively established German Expressionism’s poetic canon. Featured in it were significant works by Gottfried Benn, Else Lasker-Schüler, Georg Heym, Georg Trakl, Jakob van Hoddis, Ernst Stadler, Theodor Daubler, Alfred Lichtenstein, August Stramm, and others. Gottfried Benn, for example, contributed poems not only from his (in)famous MORGUE cycle but also from his 1917 FLESH (“Fleisch") collection.
Like German Expressionist movies, Twilight of Humanity is at turns grotesque, gloomy, fiery, nightmarish, revolutionary, ecstatic, and apocalyptic. Strong elements of alienation, tragedy, metamorphosis, and, yes, horror are expressed throughout its poetry. Twilight of Humanity also featured a bold Foreword by editor Kurt Pinthus that serves as a manifesto of Expressionist poetics in its own right. The book’s constituent works are united by an intensity that characterizes the best Expressionist art. Gottfried Benn claimed Expressionists held in common a feeling he referred to as Wirklichkeitszertriimmerung, an urge for “the shattering of external reality.”
It probably comes as no surprise that in 1933 the Nazis banned Twilight of Humanity under their policy of eradicating what they dubbed “degenerate” (“entartet”) art.
II. The Purpose of this Substack
The purpose of this Substack is to produce, poem by poem, deliberately and methodically, a new English-language edition of 1919’s German-language TWILIGHT OF HUMANITY. Each poem in the seminal anthology will get its own post. Editor Kurt Pinthus' manifesto-like Foreword will also be a topic. Along the way, we may briefly diverge onto related subjects (biographies of the writers involved, notes about Expressionism as a whole, etc.).
The end of this Substack will see the publication of a new English translation of the anthology under the title Twilight of Humanity 1919, marking an end to the volume’s unavailability for most English readers.
III. How We’ll Proceed
At least once per week—hopefully more often—and proceeding in the order in which they appeared in the original 1919 edition, one poem will be posted, in English translation, from Twilight of Humanity. (Each poem’s original German version will be placed at the end of its post.) Featured in their own posts, too, will be other subjects related to the book, whether about the lives of the writers involved, or German Expressionism more broadly (its themes, art, films, etc.). And perhaps there will be more than this.
Right now I’m unsure about paid subscriptions—what they might offer that would be unavailable in the free version. But I’ll be figuring this out as we get started. The point of this post is to do just that, though—to get this project started.
Feedback on poems, opinions on translation, and other commentary is encouraged. Or you can simply sit back and enjoy reading this tour of a dark but neglected masterwork of 20th-century literature.
