Anna Luise Karsch

Anna Louisa Karsch (1 December 1722 in , Silesia – 12 October 1791 in Berlin) was a German autodidact and poet from the Silesia region, known to her contemporaries as "Die Karschin" and "the German Sappho". She became the first German woman to "live from the proceeds of her own literary works."

Anna Luise Karsch was born on a dairy farm. Her father was a beer brewer and her mother was an innkeeper. At six she was taken away by a great uncle who taught her to read and write in German and as much Latin as he knew. When Karsch's father died her mother took her back in with the family and introduced the new step-father. The step-father moved the family to Tirschtiegel where Karsch worked as a cradle rocker, cowherder, and a house maid to a middle class woman. During this time Karsch met a sheepherder who supplied karsch with books. Her step-father, unhappy with her reading, hit her for her "Lesesucht" which in German means reading mania. From then on Karsch read in secret. In 1738 at the age of 16 she married a weaver named Hiersekorn and bore two children. In 1745, while pregnant with her third baby Karsch was granted the first divorce in Prussia. The divorce left her penniless, encouraged by her mother Karsh married again. This time to an alcoholic tailor named Karsch. Her second husband took her to central Poland and then on to Fraustadt. Karsch's husband spent most of his time drinking and worked very little.

Karsch wrote a poem for a widow and daughter of an innkeeper. At the funeral a relative saw this poem and refused to accept a women could have written it. The family brought him to meet Karsch who impressed him a great deal. The relative gave Karsch a collection of poetry books. "She began to compose Gelegenheisdichtungen for weddings and various local celebrations." Her poems appeared in local newspapers in Silesia and she developed a group of followers who were mostly Lutheran pastors and their wives. Her poetic talents grew in the cultural circles of the pastors' houses. Her poems grew large followings which brought connections, enough to support her family's financial struggles. In January of 1760 Karsch arranged for her abusive, alcoholic husband to be pressed into the Prussian Army. This left Anna Luise Karsch with the freedom to achieve higher. At the time of the Prussian campaign against Austria in Silesia, known as the Silesian Wars, Karsch wrote positively on the Prussian King — Frederick. Karsch and King Frederick unintentionally met, inspiring Karsch to write about his victories. These works were well received and she was invited to the richest, most influential houses of the area.

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