Gunter Grass
Gunter Grass
Günter Wilhelm Grasswas a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth16 October 1927
CountryGermany
democratic drawings poetry side work
Prose, poetry, and drawings stand side by side in a very democratic way in my work.
bit newspapers tone
I think it's a shame that we have 'Bild' like you have the 'Sun'. Now serious newspapers like 'FAZ' and 'Spiegel' use a bit of the tone of 'Bild.' This is terrible.
activism attuned both drawing engaged happen invariably mixed politics separate society three whether
For me, writing, drawing, and political activism are three separate pursuits; each has its own intensity. I happen to be especially attuned to and engaged with the society in which I live. Both my writing and my drawing are invariably mixed up with politics, whether I want them to be or not.
auschwitz belongs branded cannot finally great history insight possible
We cannot get by Auschwitz. We should not even try, as great as the temptation is, because Auschwitz belongs to us, is branded into our history, and - to our benefit! - has made possible an insight that could be summarized as, 'Now we finally know ourselves.'
avoid country germany guarantee life occupied pulled question shows since tin
How did it happen that an enlightened country like Germany was pulled into Nazism? That question has occupied me since 'The Tin Drum,' my first book. The story also shows that we can never know how a person's life will unfold; there is no guarantee that a person will do what is right and avoid what is not right.
besides enjoyed older speaks united
Auschwitz speaks against even a right to self-determination that is enjoyed by all other peoples because one of the preconditions for the horror, besides other, older urges, was a strong and united Germany.
cultural economic european turns union
The European Union arose on an economic foundation, and it turns out that even this is not a solid base. Cultural identity has been neglected.
crawl likes pedant tends
Memory likes to play hide-and-seek, to crawl away. It tends to hold forth, to dress up, often needlessly. Memory contradicts itself; pedant that it is, it will have its way.
becomes
Homeland is something one becomes aware of only through its loss.
art black finish white
Art is accusation, expression, passion. Art is a fight to the finish between black charcoal and white paper.
astonished fantasy larger nature realise
I'm always astonished by a forest. It makes me realise that the fantasy of nature is much larger than my own fantasy. I still have things to learn.
atomic bombs developing dropping iran prevent recognised war
How do we prevent Iran developing an atomic bomb, when, on the American side, dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is not recognised as a war crime?
ahead figure naked
The naked figure will not get ahead between the mirrors.
absolute age busy conflict leisure melancholy principle soon utopian work
If work and leisure are soon to be subordinated to this one utopian principle -- absolute busyness -- then utopia and melancholy will come to coincide: an age without conflict will dawn, perpetually busy -- and without consciousness.