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Photo © Isolde Ohlbaum
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Volker Braun, born in Dresden in 1939, is one of the most prominent authors of the former GDR. His work includes both experimental and popular novels, drama, and poetry. In the GDR he affirmed an eco-socialist philosophy while pushing hard against the limitations on political and social criticism which were imposed by the communist state. In united Germany, Braun has received numerous prestigious awards, and remains a leading critical voice of opposition to turbo-capitalism. The collection What's Really Wanted (2000) consists of three short stories which explore conflicts between elites and the excluded, young and old, men and women in three locations: Italy ("What's Really Wanted"), eastern Russia ("How Things Stand"), and in this last story, Brazil: a reckoning with a century of hopes for radical social change, always dashed so far. (2010)