Jurgen Becker is a German author, poet, and radio play author.
Background
Jurgen Becker was born on July 10, 1932 in Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Son of Robert and Else (Schuchardt) Becker. Jurgen Becker's family moved from Cologne to Erfurt in 1939, so that he experienced the war as a child in Thuringia. In 1947, he went to Waldbröl in West Germany. In 1950 he moved back to his native city of Cologne.
Education
In 1950-1953, Jurgen attended a high school in Cologne until graduation. In 1953-1954 Jurgen attended the University of Cologne.
Career
He was a lecturer in the Rowohlt publishing house from 1964 till 1965. Since 1965, he is a freelance writer. From 1974, he was director of the Suhrkamp Theater Publishing, and from 1974 to 1993, director of the radio play department in Deutschlandfunk Cologne. Since 1988 he was a writer at Warwick University. Since 1994, His contributions have appeared in the journal Sinn und Form.
From 1959 till 1964 he was a member of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk. From 1960, Becker was a participant in the group 47. Since 1969, he has been a member of the PEN Center Germany and the Academy of Arts (Berlin), since 1974, the German Academy of Language and Poetry, since 1984 the Academy of Sciences and Literature in Mainz, and since 2009 the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
Westdeutscher Rundfunk
,
Germany
1959 - 1964
Group 47
,
Germany
1960
PEN Center Germany
,
Germany
1969
Academy of Arts (Berlin)
,
Germany
1969
German Academy of Language and Poetry
,
Germany
1974
Academy of Sciences and Literature
,
Germany
1984
North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences and Arts
,
Germany
2009
Connections
Becker married his first wife Marie Becker in 1954, but they divorced in 1965. Becker has been married to the artist Rango Bohne since 1965 and lives near Cologne, in Odenthal. Becker's son from first marriage is the photographer and filmmaker Boris Becker. Jurgen Becker has also one stepson and one stepdaughter from second marriage.