Barbara Köhler

Barbara Köhler (1959–2021) was a German poet who authored a dozen books. Regarded as one of the most important voices of German poetry of the past half century, she received numerous accolades for her work, including the Peter Huchel Prize, the Clemens von Brentano Prize, and the Alice Salomon Poetry Prize. She was also an acclaimed translator, bringing into German works by Gertrude Stein and Samuel Beckett, for which she received the Erlangen Literature Prize for Poetry in Translation. (updated 10/2026)