Günter Kunert

Günter Kunert is regarded as one of the most versatile and prolific German writers of the post-war era. Based in East Berlin, he published poetry from 1947, supported by Bertold Brecht. After he had signed a petition against the deprivation of the citizenship of Wolf Biermann in 1976, he lost his SED membership and moved to West Germany two years later. His life's work entails a number of literary forms and genres, including ballads, sonnets, reviews, travel journals, film scripts, essays, short prose, and a novel.

He received international honorary doctorates and awards. In his work Kunert critically reflects on topics such as national socialism, belief in progress, and the estranging role of the individual within a rapidly changing society.