Heinrich Detering was born 1959 in Neumünster, Germany. He is the current president of the German Academy for Language and Literature and one of the most distinguished literary scholars in the language. He has authored groundbreaking books on Thomas Mann, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Bob Dylan that have reached audiences far beyond the academic realm.
For his own poetic work, he has received numerous awards and has been the incumbent of residencies around the world, including countries like India, the United States, Norway, and Denmark. He teaches German literature at the University of Göttingen. (2019)