Georg Trakl

Born 3 February 1887, Trakl was the brother of pianist Grete Trakl and grew into one of Austria's most important Expressionist voices. His verse carried a splintered, haunted quality that set him apart in the German-language canon. Shortly before his death he wrote "Grodek", the poem that would become his best-known work. He died 3 November 1914 of a cocaine overdose, twenty-seven years old.