Reiner Kunze (born 16 August 1933 in Oelsnitz, Erzgebirge,

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

) is a German writer and

GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

dissident. He studied media and journalism at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

. In 1968, he left the GDR state party SED following the communist

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

countries invasion of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in response to the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

. He had to publish his work under various pseudonyms. In 1976, his most famous book ''The Lovely Years'', which contained critical insights into the life, and the policies behind the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

, was published in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

to great acclaim. In 1977, the GDR regime expatriated him, and he moved to

(FRG). He now lives near

Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...

in Bavaria. His writings consists mostly of poetry, though he wrote prose as well, including essays. He is also a translator of

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

poetry and prose. Kunze was a victim of the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...

's psychological warfare program. In 2009, he was awarded the

Thüringer Literaturpreis Thüringer Literaturpreis is a literary prize of Germany. It is awarded every two years and is endowed with 12,000 euros. The winners are selected by a three-member independent jury. Recipients * 2005 – * 2007 – Ingo Schulze * 2009 – R ...

Works

* ''Die Zukunft sitzt am Tische''. 1955 (with Egon Günther) * ''Vögel über dem Tau''. Liebesgedichte und Lieder. 1959 * ''Fragen des lyrischen Schaffens''. 1960 (Beiträge zur Gegenwartsliteratur, Issue 18) * ''Widmungen''. 1963 * ''Die guten Sitten''. 1964 (with Heinz Knobloch) * ''Sensible Wege''. 1969 * ''Der Löwe Leopold, fast Märchen, fast Geschichten''. 1970 * ''Zimmerlautstärke''. 1972 * ''Briefe mit blauem Siegel''. 1973 * ''Die wunderbaren Jahre''. 1976 * ''Das Märchen vom Dis'' (The Tale of Dis). 1976 * ''Die Wunderbaren Jahre''. 1979 ovie script* ''Auf eigene Hoffnung''. 1981 * ''Gespräch mit der Amsel''. 1984 * ''Eines Jeden Einziges Leben''. 1986 * ''Zurückgeworfen auf sich Selbst''. Interviews (1984–1988), 1989 * ''Das weiße Gedicht''. 1989 * ''Deckname Lyrik''. 1990 * ''Wohin der Schlaf sich Schlafen Legt''. 1991 * ''Am Sonnenhang, Tagebuch eines Jahres''. 1993 * ''Steine und Lieder: Namibische Notizen und Fotos''. 1996 * ''Ein Tag auf Dieser Erde''. 1998 * ''Nocturne in E''. 2001 (with Andreas Felger) * ''Die Aura der Wörter''. 2002 * ''Der Kuß der Koi''. 2002 * ''Wo wir zu Hause das Salz haben''. 2003 * ''Bleibt nur die eigene Stirn''. 2005 * ''Lindennacht''. 2007 * ''Die Stunde mit dir selbst''. Gedichte. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2018, .

Awards

Source: * 1968 Übersetzerpreis des Tschechoslowakischen Schriftstellerverbandes * 1971

Deutscher Jugendbuchpreis The (German Youth Literature Award) is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's and young adult literature. It is Germany's only ...

* 1973

Großer Literaturpreis der Bayerischen Akademie der Schönen Künste Großer Literaturpreis der Bayerischen Akademie der Schönen Künste (in English: Literature Award of the Bavarian Academy of the Fine Arts) was a Bavarian literary prize by the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste. In 2010, it merged with th ...

and Mölle Literature Prize, Sweden * 1977 , Austria, Andreas-Gryphius-Preis and

Georg Büchner Prize The Georg Büchner Prize () is the most important literary prize for German language literature. The award is named after dramatist and writer Georg Büchner, author of '' Woyzeck'' and '' Leonce and Lena''. The Georg Büchner Prize is awarded an ...

* 1979

Bavarian Film Awards The Bavarian Film Awards () are film awards given to German films in the state of Bavaria, awarded by the state government. Background and description The Bavarian Film Awards have been awarded annually since 1979 by the state government of Bav ...

, Best ScreenplayBayerischer Filmpreis – "Pierrot"
/ref> * 1981

Geschwister Scholl-Preis The Geschwister-Scholl-Preis is a literary prize which is awarded annually by the Bavarian chapter of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels and the city of Munich. Every year, a book is honoured, which "shows intellectual independence and s ...

* 1984

Eichendorff-Literaturpreis is a literary prize of Germany. It was first awarded in 1956 and was created in honour of Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff. The prize, endowed with 5,000 euros, has been awarded annually by the Wangener Kreis – Society for Literature and Art o ...

* 1988

Bavarian Order of Merit The Bavarian Order of Merit () is the Order of Merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria and the Bavarian people". The or ...

* 1989 Kulturpreis Ostbayerns * 1990 Herbert und Elsbeth Weichmann-Preis and

Hanns Martin Schleyer Prize The Hanns Martin Schleyer Foundation (German: ''Hanns Martin Schleyer-Stiftung'') is a German foundation that promotes research in economics, law and cultural sciences. It was established in 1977 by the Confederation of German Employers' Associa ...

* 1993 Commander's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

, Kulturpreis deutscher Freimaurer and Honorary doctorate

Technische Universität Dresden TU Dresden (for , abbreviated as TUD), also as the Dresden University of Technology, is a public research university in Dresden, Germany. It is the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, the largest university in Saxony a ...

* 1995 Honorary citizenship of the city of

Greiz Greiz ( ; ) is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the Greiz (district), district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, east of the state capital Erfurt, on the White Elster river. Greiz has a large park ...

and Culture award of the district of Passau * 1997 * 1999

Friedrich-Hölderlin-Preis Friedrich-Hölderlin-Preis is a German literary prize. It was established in 1983. The City of Bad Homburg vor der Höhe awards the prize annually in June. It is endowed with 20,000 euros and is awarded as a general literary award for outstanding ...

* 2000 Christian Ferber-Ehrengabe der Deutschen Schillerstiftung * 2001 and

Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art The Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art () was first established on 28 November 1853 by King Maximilian II von Bayern. It is awarded to acknowledge and reward excellent and outstanding achievements in the field of science and art. From ...

* 2002 * 2003 Ján Smrek Prize and honorary citizenship of the city of Oelsnitz, Erzgebirge * 2004 STAB-Preis der Stiftung für Abendländische Besinnung and Czech translation prize Premia Bohemica * 2006 Guest of Honor of the Heinrich-Heine-Haus Lüneburg * 2008

Order of Merit of the Free State of Thuringia The Order of Merit of the Free State of Thuringia () is the highest order which is bestowed by the Free State of Thuringia. The number of living holders of the order is limited to 300 persons. Notable recipients * Iris von Arnim * Rolf-Dieter Ar ...

* 2009 and

* 2013

Robert Schuman Medal, EPP Group Robert Schuman Medal named after Robert Schuman is awarded to several people annually by the European People's Party group in the European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and ...

* 2013 America Award for a lifetime contribution to international writing

British/American editions

* ''The Lovely Years'' * ''In Time of Need: A Conversation about Poetry, Resistance & Exile'' (with Mireille Gansel) * ''Zimmerlautstarke With the Volume Down Low (Swamp Press, 1981)

References

External links

*
Tabellarische Kurzbiografie zu Reiner Kunze (bis 1999)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kunze, Reiner 1933 births Living people People from Erzgebirgskreis Socialist Unity Party of Germany members Dissidents East German writers Writers from Saxony Translators from Czech Translators to German German poets 20th-century German translators German male poets German-language poets Leipzig University alumni Georg Büchner Prize winners Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Free State of Saxony