Durs Grünbein was born in Dresden in 1962.

Grünbein’s collections of poetry include Grauzone morgens and Schädelbasislektion. In 1995, he received the Peter Huchel Prize for Poetry. That same year, he became the youngest recipient of the Georg Büchner Prize. He has also published several essay collections and new translations of plays from antiquity, among them Aeschylus’ The Persians, and Seneca’s Thyestes. His work, which also includes contributions to catalogues and a libretto for opera, has been translated into many languages.

Durs Grünbein lives in Berlin.