Joseph Roth (1894–1939) was an Austrian journalist and novelist. Born in East Galicia, Roth studied in Vienna before leaving school to fight in the First World War. After the defeat and collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Roth moved to Berlin, where he worked as a journalist. A moderate success as a novelist early on, he gained wide acclaim in 1932 with the publication of The Radetzky March, a look at life under the collapsing Empire. The rise of Hitler filled Roth with despair; sensing “great catastrophe,” he committed suicide in 1939.
Michael Hofmann is an award-winning poet and the translator of such acclaimed authors as Franz Kafka, Ernst Jünger, Joseph Roth, and Thomas Bernhard. He currently teaches at the University of Florida.