Günter Grass is a
German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor and
recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is often referred to as
Germany's most famous writers that are still around today
Early Years:
Born in 1927 he
spent his youth living in the Free City of Danzig (which is now Gdank, Poland).
It wasn’t until 1945 that he came to West Germany as a homeless refugee because
of the war. Grass was unable to return home for the Soviet Army expelled all
Germans from the area. Soon after being removed
from his home, he worked in a mine and received training in stonemasonry in
1946 and 1947.
Beginning of a Career:
For many years he studied sculpture and graphics, first at
the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, then at the Berlin University of the Arts.
With his built up training that he acquired piece by piece
throughout his life, Grass worked as an author, graphic designer, and sculptor,
travelling frequently. He married in 1954 and since 1960 has lived in Berlin as
well as part-time in Schleswig-Holstein. His first marriage ended in 1978, he
remarried in 1979. From 1983 to 1986 he held the presidency of the Berlin Academy
of the Arts.
His Major works:
Grass has published many famous works in his lifetime. One
of his most famous pieces, for English-language readers, is the trilogy known
as Danzig Trilogy. The three works (being published from 1959 to the latest one
in 1963) consist of: Die Blechtrommel, Katz und Maus, and Hundejahre or The
Tin Drum, Cat and Mouse, and Dog Years. The trilogy deal with the rise of Nazism and the the war experience in
the unique culture setting of Danzig area.
Grass received many
rewards and honors for his works. In 1999 he achieved the highest literary
honor: the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish academy noted his as a writer
"whose frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history”.
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