The Austrian-born writer Erich Fried was one of the most prolific and prominent twentieth-century German-language poets. Although Fried is known principally as a poet and translator, he also published radio plays, short stories and a novel,
Ein Soldat und ein Mädchen[
A Soldier and a Girl, 1960]. His literary success is all the more startling as his personal circumstances might easily have precluded him from such prominence in the German literary world: Fried was forced to flee from his native country after the annexation of Austria by the National Socialists in 1938 and he spent the remainder of his life in an English-speaking environment. His work often has a political dimension and is characterised by a keen sensitivity to the use – and misuse – of language.
Fried was born into an
1975 words
Citation: Lawrie, Steven W.. "Erich Fried". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 March 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5894, accessed 23 November 2024.]
