Eva Strittmatter (née Braun; 8 February 1930 – 3 January 2011) was a German writer of poetry, prose, and children's literature.
Her books of poems sold millions of copies, reportedly making her the most successful German poet of the second half of the 20th century.Irmtraud Gutschke, Eva Strittmatter - Leib und Leben, br-online.de; accessed 7 March 2015.
Life From 1947-51, she studied German and Romance studies as well as Pedagogy at the Humboldt University of Berlin.Biography, aufbauverlag.de; accessed 7 March 2015. She married in 1950 and had a son, but soon she was divorced. Since 1954 she worked as a freelance writer. She met Erwin Strittmatter (1912–1994). They married in 1956 and had three sons, among them actor and writer Erwin Berner (born 1953). The marriage with Erwin Strittmatter enabled her to relinquish her maiden name, Eva Braun.
The marriage to Strittmatter initially overshadowed her own work as a writer, which did not unfold until she reached the age of 40. Following her husband's death in 1994, Strittmatter edited works from his estate.
Awards and honours Strittmatter was awarded the Heinrich Heine prize of the Ministry for culture of the GDR in 1975.
Works
Poetry Ich mach ein Lied aus Stille, 1973 Mondschnee liegt auf den Wiesen, 1975 Die eine Rose überwältigt alles, 1977 Zwiegespräch, 1980 Heliotrop, 1983 Atem, 1988 Unterm wechselnden Licht, 1990 Der Schöne (Obsession), 1997 Liebe und Hass. Die geheimen Gedichte. 1970-1990, 2002 Der Winter nach der schlimmen Liebe. Gedichte 1996/1997, 2005 Landschaft, 2005
Prose Briefe aus Schulzenhof I, 1977 Poesie und andere Nebendinge, 1983 Mai in Piestàny, 1986 Briefe aus Schulzenhof II, 1990 Briefe aus Schulzenhof III, 1995 Du liebes Grün. Ein Garten- und Jahreszeitenbuch, 2000
Children's books Brüderchen Vierbein, 1958 Vom Kater der ein Mensch sein wollte, 1959 Ich schwing mich auf die Schaukel, 1975
References
Sources Rengha Rodewill: Zwischenspiel – Lyrik, Fotografie. Together with Eva Strittmatter. Plöttner Verlag, Leipzig 2010, Irmtraud Gutschke: Eva Strittmatter: Leib und Leben. Das Neue Berlin, Berlin 2008. Rezension Leonore Krenzlin, Bernd-Rainer Barth: Strittmatter, Eva. In: Wer war wer in der DDR? 5. Ausgabe. Band 2, Ch. Links, Berlin 2010, . Beatrix M. Brockman: Nur fliegend fängt man Worte ein. Eva Strittmatters Poetik. Peter Lang, Oxford 2013.