When I studied languages in high school and university, literature — poetry, novels, plays — was an integral part of our curriculum and one of my favorite aspects of it.

As a language instructor, I’ve also integrated literature into my teaching methods, often using poetry and fairy tales to inject some fun and culture into the lessons and work on pronunciation.

Literary Resources

Here are just some of my favorite poems, novels and plays, that can also help you improve your German language skills.

Poems (ranging from beginners level (A1) to advanced (B2/C1))

Erich Fried – Was es ist

Heinrich Heine – Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen

Elli Michler – Ich wünsche dir Zeit

Johann Wolfgang Goethe – Der Erlkönig

Theodor Fontane – Nicht Glückes bar

Rainer Maria Rilke – Das Karussell

Dr. Heinrich Hoffmann – Der Struwwelpeter (poetry for children)

Julia Engelmann – Eines Tages, Baby (poetry slam)

Novels and plays

Wolf Haas (Austria) – Komm, süßer Tod

Thomas Berhard (Austria) – Alte Meister

Hermann Hesse (Germany) – Der Steppenwolf

Erich Kästner (Germany) – Emil und die Detektive (Kinderbuch)

Martin Suter (Switzerland) – Der Koch

Friedrich Dürrenmatt (Switzerland) – Die Physiker