This critical edition of the letters of Hamburg lyric poet, Friedrich von Hagedorn (1708-1754), presents the complete "extant corpus", of which more than a third consists of hitherto unpublished texts. The letters are comprehensively annotated and are complemented with a Hagedorn bibliography and index. The text reveals Hagedorn as a poet and scholar who played an active role in European literature of the first half of the 18th century and as an important mediator. He attempted to maintain an independent postion in the literary feuds of his time, as shown by some of his letters. A constant motif in his letters is his committment to promising young literary talents. The letters to his brother, Christian Ludwig von Hagedorn are marked with care and compassion, and besides comments on art and literature also deal with a rich variety of everyday life.