Where playwrights fell silent and novelists appeared perplexed, the lyricists raised their voices. In this volume, Marcel Reich-Ranicki presents the hundred best German poems of the twentieth century. The selection ranges from Ricarda Huch, Stefan George, and Else Lasker-Schüler to the poets born after the Second World War, such as Ulla Hahn and Durs Grünbein. The collection focuses on Rilke and Benn, Trakl and Celan. However, the most prominently featured poet is the one many consider the classic of modern German poetry: Bertolt Brecht. This volume also takes into account underrated, if not forgotten, poets of the century. "I have selected poems that I like, that I appreciate or admire, or even love." Marcel Reich-Ranicki.