Klabund, pseudonym of Alfred Henschke (Crossen/Oder, 1890-1928, Davos), who suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis from his seventeenth year, and made frequent stays in sanatoria in Switzerland. He was a close friend of G. Benn. He published a number of novels on historical figures (Moreau, 1916; Mohammed, 1917; Franziskus, 1921; Borgia, 1928; and Rasputin, 1929) and wrote ecstatic Expressionistic poetry (Morgenrot! Klabund! Die Tage dämmern!, 1912), but his principal novel is about a vagabond named Bracke (Bracke, 1918), who has been compared to Till Eulenspiegel, though he possesses an altruistic trait which is foreign to Till. The novel is set in the 16th c. Klabund is best known for his adaptations from the Chinese, especially of the play Der Kreidekreis (1925), which Brecht used when writing Der kaukasische Kreidekreis. Klabund's Gesammelte Werke (1930) amount to 6 vols., and a selection, Der himmlische Vagant, ed. M. Kesting, appeared in 1968, Gedichte und Prosa, ed. W. E. Richartz, in 1978. Benn wrote Totenrede für Klabund (1928); and Briefe an einen Freund, ed. E. Heinrich, was published in 1963.

(kläbʊnt') , pseud. of Alfred Henschke (äl'frĕt hĕnsh'kə) , 1890–1928, German poet, novelist, and dramatist. A skillful translator and adapter of Asian literature, he wrote original poems in a Chinese style. His play Kreidekreis (1924, tr. Circle of Chalk, 1929), based on Chinese legend, was very popular. His novels include Bracke (1918, tr. Brackie the Fool, 1927) and Pjotr (1923, tr. Peter the Czar, 1925).