Friedrich Holderlin was a fan of ancient poets, and a hero to modern poets. He admired Pindar and Sophocles. Holderlin in turn was a great influence on modern poets and philosophers notably Nietzsche, Rilke, Heidegger and Celan.
Holderlin was born in Germany in 1770. He grew into a great lyric poet who included Christian and Greek elements in his works. He received his degree in 1793. He played a key role in the development of German Idealism. ‘Der Archipelagus’, ‘Brod und Wein’, ‘Patmos, Halfte des Lebens’, are prominent among his works.
Holderlin himself translated ‘Oedipus the King’, and ‘Antigone’, written by Sophocles, into German in 1804.
Friedrich Holderlin died on 7th June 1843. Sadly, his greatness was not recognized in his lifetime. Today, he ranks among the greatest of the German as well as European poets.
In 2008, Maxine Chernoff and Paul Hoover translated the Selected Poems of Friedrich Holderlin and won a PEN USA Award for Translation.
