Wolfdietrich Schnurre
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Wolfdietrich Schnurre (August 22, 1920, Frankfurt am Main, Germany – June 9, 1989, Kiel, Germany) was a German writer.
Schnurre was an important literary figure of post-war West Germany. Apart from numerous short stories he also wrote novels, tales, diaries, poems, radio plays and (beginning in the 1960s) children's books which he partly illustrated himself.
[edit] Life and work
Schnurre grew up in Frankfurt before his father, a librarian, moved to Berlin in 1928. Here Schnurre attended a socialist elementary school and grammar school. Between 1939 and 1945 he involuntarily became a World War II soldier. In April 1945 he fled to Westfalia and returned to Berlin after the end of war. In the beginning he lived in the Eastern part of the city, but in 1946 he moved to West Berlin. In the following years he worked as theatre and movie reviewer for Deutsche Rundschau and other Berlin newspapers.
From 1950 Schnurre was an independent writer. He was a founding member of the literary association Gruppe 47 and his short story Das Begräbnis (The Funeral) was the first piece of literature read at the group's initial meeting. He was also member of PEN in the Federal republic of Germany which he left in 1961 to protest against PEN's silence after the construction of the Berlin Wall. Since 1959 Schnurre was member of the German Academy for Language and Literature in Darmstadt. In 1964 hecame down with severe polyneuritis.
Schurre received several awards for his works including the Prize Young Generation of the Fontane Award of the City of Berlin (1958), the Immermann Award (1959), the Georg Marckensen Literature Award (1962), the Federal Cross of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz, 1981), the Literature Award of the City of Cologne (1982), the Georg Büchner Prize (1983) and the Culture Award of the City of Kiel (1989).
[edit] Literary works
- Das Begräbnis, 1947
- An die Harfner, 1948
- Rettung des deutschen Films, 1950)
- Die Rohrdommel ruft jeden Tag, 1950
- Sternstaub und Sänfte, 1953
- Die Blumen des Herrn Albin, 1955
- Kassiber, 1956
- Abendländler, 1957
- Protest im Parterre, 1957
- Als Vaters Bart noch rot war, 1958
- Barfußgeschöpfe, 1958
- Eine Rechnung, die nicht aufgeht, 1958
- Anaximanders Ende, 1958
- Der Verrat,1958
- Steppenkopp, 1958
- Das Los unserer Stadt, 1959
- Man sollte dagegen sein, 1960
- Berlin - eine Stadt wird geteilt, 1962
- Die Mauer des 13. August, 1962
- Funke im Reisig, 1963
- Die Gläsernen, 1963
- Ohne Einsatz kein Spiel, 1964
- Schreibtisch unter freiem Himmel, 1964
- Die Tat, 1964
- Kalünz ist keine Insel, 1965
- Die Erzählungen, 1966
- Das Schwein, das zurückkam, 1967
- Spreezimmer möbliert, 1967
- Was ich für mein Leben gern tue, 1967
- Die Zwengel, 1967
- Rapport des Verschonten, 1968
- Ein Schneemann für den großen Bruder, 1969 (with Marina Schnurre)
- Gocko, 1970 (with Marina Schnurre)
- Richard kehrt zurück, 1970
- Die Sache mit den Meerschweinchen, 1970 (with Marina Schnurre)
- Schnurre heiter, 1970
- Die Wandlung des Hippipotamos, 1970
- Immer mehr Meerschweinchen, 1971 (with Marina Schnurre)
- Der Spatz in der Hand, 1971
- Wie der Koala-Bär wieder lachen lernte, 1971 (with Marina Schnurre)
- Der Meerschweinchendieb, 1972
- Ich frag ja bloß, 1973
- Schnurren und Murren, 1974
- Der wahre Noah, 1974
- Eine schwierige Reparatur, 1976
- Ich brauch dich, 1976
- Klopfzeichen, 1978
- Der Schattenfotograf, 1978
- Erfülltes Dasein, 1979
- Kassiber und neue Gedichte, 1979
- Ein Unglücksfall, 1981
- Gelernt ist gelernt, 1984
- Emil und die Direktiven, 1985
- Mein Leben als Zeitgenosse, 1987
- Zigeunerballade, 1988
- Weihnachts-Schnurren, 1988
- Verkehrszeichen, 1991 (with Werner Kohn)
- Als Vater sich den Bart abnahm, 1995
- Die Prinzessin kommt um vier, 2000 (with Rotraut Susanne Berner)
- Kasimir hat einen Vogel, 2000 (with Manfred Bofinger)
- Doddlmoddl, 2003 (with Egbert Herfurth)
- Jenö war mein Freund
This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of 7 October 2006.