Volker Braun (born 7 May 1939 in Dresden) is a German writer. His works include Provokation für mich (Provocation for me) – a collection of poems written between 1959 and 1964 and published in 1965, a play, Die Kipper (The Dumpers) (1972; written 1962–1965), and Das ungezwungene Leben Kasts (The Unrestrained Life of Kast) (1972).
After completing his Abitur, Volker Braun worked for a time in construction before going on to study philosophy at Leipzig. There he occupied himself with the contradictions and hopes of a socialist state. He joined the SED in 1960. Nevertheless, he was regarded as critical of the GDR state, and often succeeded in getting his prose and poetry published only through the application of tactical skill.
His work included poetry, plays, novels and short stories.
At first his writings reflected a critical enthusiasm for the building of socialism. From 1965 to 1967, Braun worked as artistic director at the Berliner Ensemble at the invitation of Helene Weigel. After the events of the Prague Spring, he became increasingly critical of life and the possibility for reform under Socialism. After that, he came under more intense scrutiny of the Stasi. In 1972 Braun began work at the Deutsches Theater Berlin (German Theatre Berlin). In 1976 he was among those who signed the petition protesting the expatriation of Wolf Biermann.[1] From 1979 he was active again in the Berliner Ensemble. He received the Lessing Prize of East Germany in 1981. and the National Prize of East Germany in 1988.
In 1982 Braun left the Writers’ Union of the GDR. At that time his works described an increasingly depressing life in the GDR. The actors in his plays moved about with resignation in immovable settings. His Hinze-Kunze-Roman, based on Diderot's Jacques le fataliste et son maître, received approval for publication in 1985. When it appeared it was reviewed as “absurd” and “anarchistic” by the influential critic Annalise Loeffler.[2] Klaus Hoepke, then deputy minister for culture, was disciplined for having granted permission for its publication.[3]
In 1988, Braun received the National Prize of the GDR. During the "peaceful revolution" of 1989, he was a supporter of an independent "third way" for the GDR. He was among the first signatories of the appeal "Fuer unser Land."[4] After reunification, he became critically engaged in analysing the reasons for the collapse of the GDR. In this connection, he undertook work with the west-Marxist journal, "Das Argument," edited by Wolfgang Fritz Haug.
In 1986, Braun was awarded the Bremer Literature Prize. In 1992 he received the Schiller Memorial Prize. He was awarded a stipend at the Villa Massimo and was a guest of the University of Wales in 1994. In 1996, he received the Deutschen Kritikerpreis (German Critic Prize), became a member of the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung, the Sächsische Akademie der Künste (Saxon Academy of the Arts) and held the post of Poet-lecturer at the University of Heidelberg. He received the Erwin Strittmatter Prize in 1998 and the Georg Büchner Prize in 2000. From 1999 to 2000, he was the Brothers Grimm-professor at the University of Kassel. He would be elected Director of the Literature Section of the Academy of Arts, Berlin in 2006. In 2008, he received the 2007 ver.di-Literature Prize 2007 for his story, "Das Mittagsmahl" (Lunch).
Volker Braun lives in Berlin.
Selected worksedit
Die Kipper (The Dumpers), Drama (1965)
Provokation für mich (Provocation for Me), Poem (1965)
Vorläufiges (Provisional), Poem (1966)
Kriegs Erklärung (War's Declaration) (1967)
Lenins Tod (Lenin's Death), Drama (1970)
Wir und nicht sie (We and not They), Poem (1970)
Die Kipper (The Dumpers), Drama (1972)
Gedichte (Poems) (1972)
Gegen die symmetrische Welt (Against the Symmetric World), Poem (1974)
Es genügt nicht die einfache Wahrheit (The Simple Truth isn't Enough) (1975)
Unvollendete Geschichte (Unfinished History) (1977)
Training des aufrechten Gangs (Learning to Walk Upright), Poem (1979)
Hinze-Kunze-Roman (The Hinze-Kunze-Novel), Novel (1985)
Verheerende Folgen mangelnden Anscheins innerbetrieblicher Demokratie. Schriften (Disastrous Consequences of the Missing Semblance of Internal Democracy. Writings) (1988)
Der große Frieden (The Great Peace)
Der Wendehals (The Turncoat) (1995)
Lustgarten Preußen (The Pleasure Garden of Prussia) (1996)
Wir befinden uns soweit wohl. Wir sind erst einmal am Ende (So Far, So Good. We are Almost at the End.) (1998)
Tumulus, Poetry Collection (1999)
Das Wirklichgewollte (That Which is Really Wanted) (2000)
Das unbesetzte Gebiet (The Unoccupied Area), Historical Story (2004)
Das Mittagsmahl (Lunch), Story (2007)
Literatureedit
Edition Text and Criticism: Volker Braun, 1977
Jay Rosellini, Volker Braun, 1983
Christine Cosentino, Wolfgang Ertl: Zur Lyrik Volker Brauns (To the Poet Volker Braun), 1984
Katrin Bothe: Die imaginierte Natur des Sozialismus. Eine Biographie des Schreibens und der Texte Volker Brauns 1959–1974 (The Imaginative Nature of the Socialist. A Biography of the Writings and Texts of Volker Braun 1959–1974), Würzburg 1997
^Proteste von mehr als 90 DDR-Künstlern gegen die Ausbürgerung Wolf Biermanns, auf: gegen-diktatur.de
^Anneliese Löffler: Wenn Inhalt und Form zur Farce gerinnen. In: Neues Deutschland. 9. Oktober 1985, S. 4.
^Vgl. York-Gothart Mix: Ein ‚Oberkunze darf nicht vorkommen‘. Materialien zur Publikationsgeschichte und Zensur des Hinze-Kunze-Romans von Volker Braun. Wiesbaden 1993; Wolfgang Emmerich: Kleine Literaturgeschichte der DDR. Berlin 2000, S. 52.
^Aufruf vom 26. November 1989 „Für unser Land“ – vollständiger Text mit den Erstunterzeichnern
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This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Volker Braun news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2017 Learn how and when to remove this message Volker Braun born 7 May 1939 in Dresden is a German writer His works include Provokation fur mich Provocation for me a collection of poems written between 1959 and 1964 and published in 1965 a play Die Kipper The Dumpers 1972 written 1962 1965 and Das ungezwungene Leben Kasts The Unrestrained Life of Kast 1972 Volker Braun left director Ruth Berghaus center and sculptor Wieland Forster in Berlin 1981 Contents 1 Life 2 Selected works 3 Literature 4 Film 5 References 6 External linksLife editAfter completing his Abitur Volker Braun worked for a time in construction before going on to study philosophy at Leipzig There he occupied himself with the contradictions and hopes of a socialist state He joined the SED in 1960 Nevertheless he was regarded as critical of the GDR state and often succeeded in getting his prose and poetry published only through the application of tactical skill His work included poetry plays novels and short stories At first his writings reflected a critical enthusiasm for the building of socialism From 1965 to 1967 Braun worked as artistic director at the Berliner Ensemble at the invitation of Helene Weigel After the events of the Prague Spring he became increasingly critical of life and the possibility for reform under Socialism After that he came under more intense scrutiny of the Stasi In 1972 Braun began work at the Deutsches Theater Berlin German Theatre Berlin In 1976 he was among those who signed the petition protesting the expatriation of Wolf Biermann 1 From 1979 he was active again in the Berliner Ensemble He received the Lessing Prize of East Germany in 1981 and the National Prize of East Germany in 1988 In 1982 Braun left the Writers Union of the GDR At that time his works described an increasingly depressing life in the GDR The actors in his plays moved about with resignation in immovable settings His Hinze Kunze Roman based on Diderot s Jacques le fataliste et son maitre received approval for publication in 1985 When it appeared it was reviewed as absurd and anarchistic by the influential critic Annalise Loeffler 2 Klaus Hoepke then deputy minister for culture was disciplined for having granted permission for its publication 3 In 1988 Braun received the National Prize of the GDR During the peaceful revolution of 1989 he was a supporter of an independent third way for the GDR He was among the first signatories of the appeal Fuer unser Land 4 After reunification he became critically engaged in analysing the reasons for the collapse of the GDR In this connection he undertook work with the west Marxist journal Das Argument edited by Wolfgang Fritz Haug In 1986 Braun was awarded the Bremer Literature Prize In 1992 he received the Schiller Memorial Prize He was awarded a stipend at the Villa Massimo and was a guest of the University of Wales in 1994 In 1996 he received the Deutschen Kritikerpreis German Critic Prize became a member of the Deutsche Akademie fur Sprache und Dichtung the Sachsische Akademie der Kunste Saxon Academy of the Arts and held the post of Poet lecturer at the University of Heidelberg He received the Erwin Strittmatter Prize in 1998 and the Georg Buchner Prize in 2000 From 1999 to 2000 he was the Brothers Grimm professor at the University of Kassel He would be elected Director of the Literature Section of the Academy of Arts Berlin in 2006 In 2008 he received the 2007 ver di Literature Prize 2007 for his story Das Mittagsmahl Lunch Volker Braun lives in Berlin Selected works editDie Kipper The Dumpers Drama 1965 Provokation fur mich Provocation for Me Poem 1965 Vorlaufiges Provisional Poem 1966 Kriegs Erklarung War s Declaration 1967 Lenins Tod Lenin s Death Drama 1970 Wir und nicht sie We and not They Poem 1970 Die Kipper The Dumpers Drama 1972 Gedichte Poems 1972 Gegen die symmetrische Welt Against the Symmetric World Poem 1974 Es genugt nicht die einfache Wahrheit The Simple Truth isn t Enough 1975 Unvollendete Geschichte Unfinished History 1977 Training des aufrechten Gangs Learning to Walk Upright Poem 1979 Hinze Kunze Roman The Hinze Kunze Novel Novel 1985 Verheerende Folgen mangelnden Anscheins innerbetrieblicher Demokratie Schriften Disastrous Consequences of the Missing Semblance of Internal Democracy Writings 1988 Der grosse Frieden The Great Peace Der Wendehals The Turncoat 1995 Lustgarten Preussen The Pleasure Garden of Prussia 1996 Wir befinden uns soweit wohl Wir sind erst einmal am Ende So Far So Good We are Almost at the End 1998 Tumulus Poetry Collection 1999 Das Wirklichgewollte That Which is Really Wanted 2000 Das unbesetzte Gebiet The Unoccupied Area Historical Story 2004 Das Mittagsmahl Lunch Story 2007 Literature editEdition Text and Criticism Volker Braun 1977 Jay Rosellini Volker Braun 1983 Christine Cosentino Wolfgang Ertl Zur Lyrik Volker Brauns To the Poet Volker Braun 1984 Katrin Bothe Die imaginierte Natur des Sozialismus Eine Biographie des Schreibens und der Texte Volker Brauns 1959 1974 The Imaginative Nature of the Socialist A Biography of the Writings and Texts of Volker Braun 1959 1974 Wurzburg 1997 Fritz J Raddatz Broken Lives German Die Zeit 44 2000 Rolf Jucker Hg Volker Braun in perspective Amsterdam New York 2004 Schepers Hannah Volker Braun Leben und Schreiben in der DDR Halle Saale Mitteldeutscher Verlag 2015 Film edit Zur Person Volker Braun To the Person Volker Braun Reportage 50 Min Author Gunter Gaus 1991 References edit Proteste von mehr als 90 DDR Kunstlern gegen die Ausburgerung Wolf Biermanns auf gegen diktatur de Anneliese Loffler Wenn Inhalt und Form zur Farce gerinnen In Neues Deutschland 9 Oktober 1985 S 4 Vgl York Gothart Mix Ein Oberkunze darf nicht vorkommen Materialien zur Publikationsgeschichte und Zensur des Hinze Kunze Romans von Volker Braun Wiesbaden 1993 Wolfgang Emmerich Kleine Literaturgeschichte der DDR Berlin 2000 S 52 Aufruf vom 26 November 1989 Fur unser Land vollstandiger Text mit den ErstunterzeichnernExternal links editLiterary Encyclopedia page on Volker Braun Works by and on Volker Braun in the Catalog of the German National Library Volker Braun at IMDb Link list of the FU Berlin on Volker Braun Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Volker Braun amp oldid 1158249815, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
