Founded in 1694 in Berlin by Frederick I of Prussia, the Prussian Academy of Art created the Section for Poetic Arts [Sektion für Dichtkunst] in October 1926 as the “expert advisor and approving authority for the Ministry for Science, Art and Education [Volksbildung] on questions of poetic art [Dichtkunst].” Its members represented a diversity of ideological and literary sensibilities and their disputes and debates were often reported on in the press. Thomas Mann (second from left) was one of the founding members. Alfred Döblin (far left), one of the more active and polemically engaged members, was frequently at odds with the more conservative elements. Censorship and the role of the state in promoting literature and the arts were central themes of discussion. In 1926 Ricarda Huch became the first woman to be invited to join the Section for Poetic Arts.

From left to right: Alfred Döblin, Thomas Mann, Ricarda Huch, Bernhard Kellermann, Herman Stehr, Alfred Mombert, Eduard Stucken