Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) was a German-born Swiss novelist, poet, and painter whose work explored the tension between the spiritual and the sensual, the individual and society. Born in Calw, in the Black Forest, to a family of missionaries, he rebelled against his strict religious upbringing—running away from seminary, suffering a nervous breakdown as a teenager, and eventually finding refuge in literature. He moved to Switzerland in 1912, became a Swiss citizen, and never returned to live in Germany. This author hub collects 3 works in the Canon Compass ranking, led by Steppenwolf.