Kunze, Reiner, 1933-

Reiner Kunze (born 16 August 1933 in Oelsnitz, Erzgebirge, Saxony) is a German writer and GDR dissident. He studied media and journalism at the University of Leipzig. In 1968, he left the GDR state party SED following the communist Warsaw Pact countries invasion of Czechoslovakia in response to the Prague Spring. He had to publish his work under various pseudonyms. In 1976, his most famous book The Lovely Years, which contained critical insights into the life, and the policies behind the Iron Curtain, was published in West Germany to great acclaim. In 1977, the GDR regime expatriated him, and he moved to West Germany (FRG). He now lives near Passau in Bavaria. His writings consists mostly of poetry, though he wrote prose as well, including essays. He is also a translator of Czech poetry and prose. Kunze was a victim of the Stasi's Zersetzung psychological warfare program. In 2009, he was awarded the Thüringer Literaturpreis.