Hermann Hesse: 145th Birthday on July 2, 2022

Hermann Hesse was born Calw/Württemberg in 1877 to a Baltic German and the daughter of an Indologist. After an apprenticeship to become a bookseller, he began to work as a freelance author in 1904. In 1946, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature and in 1955 the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. He is one of the most famous German authors of the 20th century. He died in Montagnola near Lugano, Italy, in August 1962. Apart from poetry, he is also the author of famous novels such as Siddhartha (1922), Der Steppenwolf (1927), Narziß und Goldmund (1930) and Das Glasperlenspiel (1943).

His work has received unparalleled reception and recognition around the world and the global circulation of his books, translated into more than 70 languages, now exceeds 150 million copies.

»Hesse’s award … honours a poetic achievement which presents throughout the image of a good man in his struggle, following his calling with rare faithfulness.«
From the award ceremony of the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature presentation to Hermann Hesse

»As long as people struggle with the need to be themselves, and the difficulty of doing so, he will be a living presence – which is even better, perhaps, than being a great writer.«
The New Yorker