Ulrich Plenzdorf

Ulrich Plenzdorf was a German author and dramatist.

Life

Born in Berlin, Plenzdorf studied Philosophy in Leipzig, but graduated with a degree in film. He found work at DEFA.
He became famous in both East and West Germany for his socially critical work titled Die neuen Leiden des jungen W., a play originally written for film, which was first performed in 1972 and subsequently published as a novel. Written in the jargon of the GDR-youth of the 1970s, it details the tragic story of a young man and his attempt to break free from his stifling middle class environment, drawing parallels between his own life and that of the protagonist in Goethe's work The Sorrows of Young Werther .
From 2004 to 2007, Plenzdorf was a guest lecturer at the Deutsches Literaturinstitut in Leipzig.
He died near Berlin of undisclosed causes, aged 72.

Awards and honors

1973 Heinrich-Mann-Preis
1978 Ingeborg-Bachmann-Preis

Works

Die neuen Leiden des jungen W.
Der alte Mann, das Pferd, die Straße
Buridans Esel
Auszug
kein runter kein fern
Legende vom Glück ohne Ende
Gutenachtgeschichte
Ein Tag länger als ein Leben
Freiheitsberaubung
''Eins und Eins ist Uneins''

Screenwriter

Follow Me, Scoundrels — based on a novel by ' Weite Straßen – stille Liebe — based on a novel by

' — based on stories by Gisela KarauThe Legend of Paul and Paula ' Die neuen Leiden des jungen W.
' — based on the novel Buridans Esel by Günter de BruynEs geht seinen Gang oder Mühen in unserer Ebene — based on a novel by Erich Loest' — based on a novel by
' — based on a novel by Benno Pludra' — based on a novel by Christoph Meckel
' — based on a novella by Martin Walser' — based on a story by Franz Fühmann
' ' — based on a story by Volker BraunVater Mutter Mörderkind Liebling Kreuzberg — TV series created by Jurek BeckerDas andere Leben des Herrn Kreins — based on the play The Professional by Dušan Kovačević
' — based on the novel The Drinker by Hans Fallada' — based on a novel by Abgehauen — based on the autobiography of Manfred Krug
' — based on a novel by Erwin Strittmatter

Film adaptations

Die neuen Leiden des jungen W., directed by
Nuoren Wertherin jäljillä, directed by Jarmo Lampela