Christine Lavant

From the age of three, the child at regular intervals contracted pneumonia and physicians treated her as nonviable; nevertheless she was enrolled in primary school (Volksschule) in 1921.

During a hospitalisation in Klagenfurt, the chief physician noted Lavant's literary interest and presented her an edition of Rainer Maria Rilke's works, which she carried on her 60 kilometres (37 mi) walk home.

In 1927 her health again declined and she was only able to finish primary school with continual interruptions two years later, after being exposed to a risky X-ray treatment.

Supported by her knitting and subsidised by her siblings, she married the painter and former landowner Josef Habernig, about 35 years her senior.

After World War II, Lavant again began to compose lyric poetry, which eventually gained some attention by the Austrian literary scene.