Margarete Neumann (19 February 1917 – 4 March 2002) was a German writer and lyrical poet.

Life

Margarete Neumann was born in Pyritz,

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. She studied at the social educational seminar in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

and worked until 1945 as a welfare worker in Heilsberg. After being expelled from Poland to Germany in 1945, she was a farmer in

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

and a welder in

Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East Berlin, East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chem ...

. Since 1952 she lived as a freelance writer in

Hohen Neuendorf Hohen Neuendorf () is a town in the Oberhavel district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is located north west of Berlin. Geography Hohen Neuendorf is situated upon the Havel river (built on the Oder-Havel Canal) and is bordered by the Berlin areas F ...

then in

Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (, Low German ''Niegenbramborg'', both lit. ''New Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg'') is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban c ...

after 1961. She was allowed as a partisanship writer and advocate of socialist realism in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. After the '' Wende'', Neumann lived in

Sousse Sousse, Sūsah , or Soussa (, ), is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

from 1991 to 2001. She succumbed to cancer on 4 March 2002 in

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

. The grave of the author is found in Mallin.

Works

* ''Der Weg über den Acker'' (The road across the field), Novel, 1955 * ''Lene Bastians Geschichte'' (Lene Bastian's History), Novellas, 1956 * ''Der lange Weg'' (The Long Way), Narrative, 1958 * ''Brot auf hölzerner Schale'' (Bread from the Wooden Bowl), Poems, 1959 * ''Elisabeth'', Narrative, 1960 * ''Rumpelstilzchen'', Radio play, 1960 * ''Das Aprikosenbäumchen'' (The Little Apricot Tree), Children's Book, 1960 * ''Der Wunderbaum'' (The Wonder Tree), Children's Book, 1960 * ''Der Spiegel'' (The Mirror), Narrative, 1962 * ''Der Totengräber'' (The Dead Graves), Novel, 1963 * ''... und sie liebten sich doch'' (.. and they loved themselves nevertheless), Novel, 1966 * ''Die Liebenden'' (The Beloved), Novel, 1970 * ''Der grüne Salon'' (The Green Salon), Novel, 1972 * ''Magda Adomeit'', Novel, 1985 * ''Land der grüngoldenen Berge: Unterwegs in Mongolien'', Novel, 1986 * ''Dies ist mein Leben ...'' (This is my Life ...), Narrative cycle, 1987 * ''Nach einem sehr langen Winter'' (After a very long Winter). Selected Stories 1956–1987, Aufbau Verlag 1989 * ''Der Geistkämpfer. 2 Novellen um Barlach'' (The Ghost Fighter. 2 Novellas about Barlach), Aufbau Verlag 1990 * ''Da Abend und Morgen einander berühren Die Webers und die Adomeits'' (The Webers and the Adomeits affect each other that evening and morning). Novel, Aufbau Verlag 1990

Prizes

* 1957

Heinrich Mann Prize The Heinrich Mann Prize () is an essay prize that has been awarded since 1953, first by the East German Academy of Arts, then by the Academy of Arts, Berlin. The prize, which comes with a €10,000 purse, is given annually on 27 March, Heinrich ...

* 1962 Fritz Reuter Prize

External links

Literature by and on Margarete Neumann
in the catalog of the

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; ) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to collect, permanently archive, comprehens ...

Literature about Margarete Neumann
in the Landesbibliographie Mecklenburg-Vorpommern {{DEFAULTSORT:Neumann, Margarete 1917 births 2002 deaths People from Pyrzyce Writers from the Province of Pomerania Heinrich Mann Prize winners German women poets 20th-century German poets 20th-century German women writers German expatriates in Tunisia