Hedwig Caspari’s Midrashic Poetry

This article seeks to reclaim Hedwig Caspari (1882–1922) as an innovative littérateur whose midrashic poetry reveals crucial intersections between Expressionism and biblical re-reading. Although recognized as a rising literary talent during her lifetime, her work appearing alongside that of established poets such as Max Brod, Franz Werfel, and Else Lasker-Schüler, Caspari’s contribution to Expressionism, the (German) Jewish literary world, and feminine writing has largely been overlooked. Engaging in a close analysis of her 1919 collection Elohim, this paper demonstrates her distinctive hermeneutical approach, which both partakes of and expands Expressionist techniques. Developing sophisticated interpretative strategies–transfocalization, transvocalization, rethematization, and reorientation–that challenge conventional readings of biblical texts, her linguistic experimentation, metaphorical richness, and psychological insight into marginalized biblical figures offer a unique perspective on themes such as the poet as prophet and the chosen. Examination of the way in which her midrashic “filling in of gaps” in the biblical text in unique poetical language reveals both an important female Expressionist voice and a counterpoint to the dominant narratives regarding Jewish Expressionist writing and women Jewish writers.