Volker Braun, winner in 2000 of the prestigious Georg Büchner Prize, started his career in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) but soon had difficulties with the authorities because he criticized their view of the world. His recent books include Tumulus (Burial Mound, Suhrkamp, 1999) and Lustgarten Preußen: Ausgewählte Gedichte (Pleasure Garden Prussia: Selected Poems, Suhrkamp, 2000). He lives in Berlin and also publishes plays and prose. (updated 2000)