Gunter GrassAwards:
Nobel Prize in Literature-1999 Nobel Committee
in its citation stated that Gunter Grass was one
"Whose
frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history"
Born: 16/10/1927 in Danzig-Langfuhr,
now Gdańsk,
Poland
Citizen: German
Language: German
Günter Wilhelm Grass
was born to Polish-German parents in free city of Danzig which is now
in Poland. Grass had a magical attachment with Danzig and the
memories of the place are rekindled in his works from time to time.
Grass was raised as a Roman Catholic and the atmosphere in his house,
he describes as
stuffy catholic lower middle class.
During the final days of the Second World War, Grass was drafted into
10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg, was wounded & captured by the
Americans and was sent as a Prisoner-of-War. His birth place Danzig
was captured by Soviet Army, annexed to Poland and the German
population there were expelled. Grass had to take refuge in West
Germany.
Grass had an active social & political life. In 1980s, he was involved
with Peace Movement and was in Kolkata, India for 6 months. He
published his diary with drawings (as part of his experience) as
Zunge zeigen,
an allusion to Kali's
tongue. During the years leading to the Unification of Germany in
1989-90, Grass argued against unification as he apprehended that
unified Germany would revert to its earlier role as a belligerent
nation-state.
Grass's reputation as a thought provoking writer spread to the English
speaking world with the publication of his first novel, The Tin
Drum. This novel along with Cat and Mouse & Dog Years
form the Danzig trilogy.
Grass will also be remembered for his work, Crabwalk, published in
2002 which has put him as the most remembered living writer of
Post-War Germany.
Notable Works:Danziger
Trilogy:
Die Blechtrommel --
The Tin Drum(1959/1959),
Katz und Maus-- Cat and Mouse(1961/1963),
Hundejahre-- Dog Years(1963/1965),
Gleisdreieck-- Poems,1960(1960),
Die Plebejer proben den Aufstand-- The
Plebians Rehearse the Uprising (1966/1966) ,
Aus dem Tagebuch einer Schnecke-- From
the Diary of a Snail (1972/1973),
Unkenrufe-- The Call of the Toad
(1992/1992)Im
Krebsgang-- Crabwalk
(2002/2002),
Beim Häuten der Zwiebel --
Peeling the Onion (2006/2007),Dummer
August---
Poems,2007
(2007/2007),
Die Box---
The Box (2008/2010),
Unterwegs von Deutschland nach Deutschland. Tagebuch 1990 --
From Germany to Germany: Diary 1990 (2009/2012)
Order Gunter Grass's Books below
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