[1] Goll née Aischmann was born on 29 October 1890 in Nuremberg, Germany.

In 1916, she emigrated in protest of World War I to Switzerland, where she studied at the University of Geneva, became involved in the peace movement, and began to work as a journalist.

At the end 1918, she had an affair with Rainer Maria Rilke and they remained friends until his death.

Her autobiographical novels Der gestohlene Himmel (1962) and Traumtänzerin (1971) did not receive much attention.

However, her battle with Paul Celan over copyright and plagiarism, known as the "Goll Affair", caused a significant stir.