Anja Kampmann (1983) was born in Hamburg and studied at Leipzig University and the German Institute for Literature. In 2011, she won a scholarship by the International Writing Programme Iowa and subsequently began her doctoral dissertation on the late prose works of Samuel Beckett, while simultaneously working as radio producer. Kampmann was the recipient of the 2013 MDR Literature Prize, and she also won the Wolfgang Weyrach promotion prize in 2015. Her debut poetry book Proben von Stein und Licht (Essays from Stone and Light) was part of the Edition Lyrik Kabinett series of Hanser Publications. His sophomore book was 2017’s Fischdiebe (Fish Thieves), a book of miniature prose issued in a limited edition of 100 copies, followed by the 2018 novel Wie hoch die Wasser Steigen (How the Waters Keep Rising), once again by Hanser Publications. Wie hoch die Wasser Steigen was nominated for the prize of the Leipzig Book Fair and the German Book Prize, and won the 2019 Mara Cassens Prize for best debut novel. Kampmann was also awarded the literature prize of the City of Lüneburg and the Lessing Prize of the Free State of Saxony. Her poems have been translated in many languages. She has also been elected as City Writer of the town of Bergen-Enkeim (in Frankfurt) for 2019/2020. Her poems in this anthology were originally included in Proben von Stein und Licht.