Peter Härtling

Peter Härtling (born 13 November 1933) is a German writer and poet. He is a member of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and he received the Großes Verdienstkreuz for his major contribution to German literature. For his lasting contribution as a children's writer, Härtling was a finalist in 2010 for the biennial, the international Hans Christian Andersen Award, and the highest recognition available to creators of children's books.

Härtling was born at Chemnitz, and spent the early part of his childhood living in Hartmannsdorf, Mittweida, where his father maintained a law firm. Following the outbreak of World War II, the family moved to the German-occupied town of Olomouc in Moravia. Like many of the town's German residents, Härtling's family fled before the Red Army's advance on the city during the final months of the war; the family briefly settled in Zwettl, Austria. Härtling's father was captured by the Russians, and died in June 1945 at the prisoner-of-war camp in Dollersheim. Following the conclusion of World War II, Härtling finally settled in Nürtingen, Baden-Württemberg. His mother committed suicide in October 1946. He studied under HAP Grieshaber at the Bernsteinschule art school, before starting work as a journalist.

Härtling had his first collection of poetry published in 1953. From 1967 to 1973, Härtling was the managing director of the German publishing house S. Fischer Verlag, located in Frankfurt. Härtling became a full-time writer after leaving S. Fischer Verlag. In 1976, he published a fairy tale called, Fundevogel (English version as "The Foundling"), which is part of the children's book Update on Rumpelstiltskin and other Fairy Tales by 43 Authors, which is compiled by Hans-Joachim Gelberg, illustrated by Willi Glasauer, and published by Beltz & Gelberg. In the winter semester of 1983/84, he hosted the annual Frankfurter Poetik-Vorlesungen, a lecture series, in which a prominent writer discourses on topics pertaining to their work. Härtling used his lectureship to demonstrate the process of using a found object as the inspiration for a literary work. During the series of lectures, he wrote Der spanische Soldat, a short story based on a photograph by Robert Capa.

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