Songs on the Death of Children

German poet Friedrich Ruckert’s youngest children died of scarlet fever. Over six months in 1834, he wrote hundreds of laments that were published posthumously in the classic poetry collection, Kindertotenlieder. Here in English for the first time, these evocative modern translations reveal ‘an honest grappling with grief’.

---

German poet Friedrich Ruckert's (1788-1866) youngest children died of scarlet fever, the pandemic of his age. Over six months in 1834, he wrote hundreds of laments that were published posthumously in the classic poetry collection, Kindertotenlieder.

Here in English for the first time, these evocative modern translations by a fellow bereaved father reveal "an honest grappling with grief" (The Christian Century). Each poem is accompanied by practical insight for the bereaved, along with personal anecdotes, historical and cultural information, the latest research on grief, and discussions of literary and biblical allusions.