Walter Rheiner

[1] In 1895, Walter Rheiner was born in Cologne, Germany, to his mother, Ernestine Schnorrenberg, and his father.

[clarification needed] His work drew comparisons to contemporaries such as Georg Trakl and Franz Kafka.

[2] One of Rheiner's most fertile artistic relationships was with the German expressionist painter Conrad Felixmüller.

[citation needed] In his last five years, from 1920 to his death in 1925, Rheiner's poetic output decreased.

Kokain was written in the summer of 1918[4] and serves as a typical example of how autobiographical themes run through Rheiner's work.