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Günter Kunert

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Günter Kunert
Kunert in 2008
Born(1929-03-06)6 March 1929
Berlin
Died21 September 2019(2019-09-21) (aged 90)
Kaisborstel, Germany
Occupations
  • Writer
  • Poet
  • Graphic artist
Organization
Awards

Günter Kunert (German: [ˈɡʏn.tɐ ˈkʊ.nɐt] ⓘ; 6 March 1929 – 21 September 2019) was a German writer. 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 the West two years later. He is regarded as a versatile German writer who wrote short stories, essays, autobiographical works, film scripts and novels. He received international honorary doctorates and awards.

Life

Kunert was born in Berlin.[1] After attending a Volksschule, it was not possible for Kunert—due to the National Socialist race laws—to continue his high school education because his mother was Jewish.[2] After World War II, Kunert studied graphics at East Berlin's Academy of Applied Arts from 1946–49,[3] but then abandoned his studies.[4] His first poem appeared in 1947.[4] Supported by Bertold Brecht, he published in the satirical paper Ulenspiegel. In 1950, his first poetry collection appeared.[1]

He joined the main political party of East Germany, the Socialist Unity Party (SED) in 1949.[1] In 1976, he signed a petition against the deprivation of the citizenship of his fellow writer, Wolf Biermann,[5] and subsequently lost his SED membership. During the same year, he also published his own rather different version of the fairy tale Aladdin, known as a fairy tale called, Neues Märchen vom alten Flaschengeist (English version as "The New 1001 Arabian Nights Tales are Fit for The Old Man Genie of the Lamp"), which is part of the children's book Update on Rumpelstiltskin and other Fairy Tales by 43 Authors, which is compiled by Hans-Joachim Gelberg, illustrated by Willi Glasauer, and published by Beltz & Gelberg.[6] Kunert was able to leave the GDR in 1979 with a visa.[3] He, his wife Marianne, and their granddaughter, Judith, established themselves in near Itzehoe in northern Germany.[4]

Kunert was regarded as one of the most versatile and important contemporary German writers. Besides lyric poetry, he also wrote short stories, essays, autobiographical works, aphorisms, satires, fairy tales, science fiction, radio plays, speeches, travel writing, film scripts, a novel, and a drama. Kunert was also a painter and a graphic artist.[2] He published in numerous literary magazines, such as Muschelhaufen.[7]

In his works, he took a critical attitude towards Nazism, and the belief in progress. Kunert was a primary opponent of the German spelling reform of 1996, and served as a member in the Association for German Orthography and Language Care. He was also active in the P.E.N. Club of German-language authors.[1]

Kunert died in Kaisborstel on 21 September 2019 at the age of 90.[4] He is buried in Berlin at Weißensee cemetery.[8]

Awards

Kunert was an honorary doctor of several universities in Italy and the United States. He was awarded the Heinrich Heine Prize of Düsseldorf in 1985, the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2012[9] and the Kunstpreis of Schleswig-Holstein in 2014.[2][4]

Work

Books

Books by Kunert are held by the German National Library.[10]

Film scripts

Kunert wrote several film scripts for the DEFA, including:[11]

West Germany

Film

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Kunert, Günter". bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de (in German). Bundesstiftung Aufarbeitung. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Günter Kunert (Germany)". literaturfestival.com (in German). International Literature Festival Berlin. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Degree Conferred in Germany". Dickinson College. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Schriftsteller Günter Kunert ist tot". ndr.de (in German). NDR. 22 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Günter Kunert". Prague Writers' Festival. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  6. ^ Günter Kunert: Neues Märchen vom alten Flaschengeist. In: Hans-Joachim Gelberg (ed.): Neues vom Rumpelstilzchen und andere Haus-Märchen von 43 Autoren. Beltz & Gelberg, Weinheim 1976, S. 20–25.
  7. ^ Muschelhaufen. No. 31/32-47/48. Viersen 1994–2007. ISSN 0085-3593
  8. ^ "Dichter Günter Kunert (90) gestorben". B.Z. 22 September 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Mohr, Peter (6 March 2019). "Heimat in der Kunst / Zum 90. Geburtstag des Lyrikers Günter Kunert". titel-kulturmagazin.net (in German). Titel-Kulturmagazin. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  10. ^ "Publications by Günter Kunert". portal.dnb.de (in German). German National Library. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Nachruf auf Günter Kunert (6.3.1929-21.9.2019)". www.filmdienst.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  12. ^ "Filmdetails: Das Stacheltier - Abseits (1953)". www.defa-stiftung.de (in German). 1954-01-22. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  13. ^ "Filmdetails: Vom König Midas (1962)". www.defa-stiftung.de (in German). 1963-05-17. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  14. ^ "Filmdetails: Abschied (1968)". www.defa-stiftung.de (in German). 1968-10-10. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  15. ^ "Filmdetails: Beethoven - Tage aus einem Leben (1976)". www.defa-stiftung.de (in German). 1976-10-14. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  16. ^ "Filmdetails: Unterwegs nach Atlantis (1976)". www.defa-stiftung.de (in German). 1977-07-28. Retrieved 2023-11-18.

External links

Media related to Günter Kunert at Wikimedia Commons

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