Ernst Meister was born in Hagen, Germany in 1911. After the publication of his first book in 1932, he published no poetry for two decades, a silent spell that ultimately gave way to the prolific last third of his life, over the course of which he produced more than sixteen volumes of verse. In 1979, he was posthumously awarded the Georg Büchner Prize.

Graham Foust is the author of several collections of poetry, including Nightingalelessness and Embarrassments. He teaches at the University of Denver.

Samuel Frederick has published several books on German literature and film, most recently The Redemption of Things and The Last Laugh. He teaches at the Pennsylvania State University.