Editing Steppenwolf (novel) (section)

== Background and publication history ==
In 1924, Hermann Hesse married singer Ruth Wenger. After several weeks, he left [[Basel]], only returning near the end of the year. Upon his return, he rented a separate apartment, adding to his isolation. After a short trip to Germany with Wenger, Hesse almost completely stopped seeing her. The resulting isolation and inability to make lasting contact with the outside world led to increasing despair and the return of Hesse's suicidal thoughts.

Hesse began writing ''Steppenwolf'' in Basel, and finished it in [[Zürich]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}  In 1926, he published a precursor to the book, a collection of poems titled ''The Crisis: From Hermann Hesse's Diary''. The novel was released in 1927. The first English edition, translated by Basil Creighton, was published in 1929 by [[Martin Secker]] in the United Kingdom and by [[Henry Holt and Company]] in the United States.

In 1926, Hesse also became acquainted with jazz music, attending Swiss performances of the ''Revue Nègre'' featuring [[Josephine Baker]] and [[Sidney Bechet]]; Steven C. Tracy, professor of [[Afro-American Studies]] at the [[University of Massachusetts]], writes, "the character of Pablo... was inspired by Bechet's playing".<ref name="Hot Music, Ragmentation, and the Bluing of American Literature">{{cite book|last1=Tracy|first1=Steven|date=2015|title=Hot Music, Ragmentation, and the Bluing of American Literature|isbn=978-0817358969|publisher=University of Alabama Press|url=http://www.uapress.ua.edu/product/Hot-Music-Ragmentation-and-the-Bluing-of-America,6159.aspx|access-date=2020-03-10|archive-date=2022-10-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007051723/http://www.uapress.ua.edu/product/Hot-Music-Ragmentation-and-the-Bluing-of-America,6159.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>