This selection of poems, curated by the author a year before his death, is definitive. It encompasses about one-fifth of his entire lyrical oeuvre. Max Herrmann-Neisse wrote about Hesse's poetry: "Of the many lyrics I read, whether talented or hopelessly untalented, epigonic, chanson-like, gloomy or devout, voluntarily or involuntarily cheerful, Hesse's poetry is the one that most clearly and reliably conveys the human artistically and the artistic humanly. One can only express gratitude for it in a tone of heartfelt admiration and affection.".