Born in Dresden in 1962, Durs Grünbein is the most significant and successful poet to emerge from the former East Germany. His recent work has seen a shift from a streetwise, ironic style to new formal constraints and a more human voice, even if the lyric subject is largely absent. He himself has also translated, including Aeschylus, Seneca, and Sarah Kane, and has worked with contemporary Japanese poet Yûji Nawata.