Shadow of Shadows - Softcover

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

Born in Munich, Ute von Funcke still lives there. Very early she developed a love for literature, tales, myths and with growing interest philosophy, psychology and politics. She took to acting as a schoolgirl and in her student`s years, which taught her to watch human acting, behaviour and communication. Impressions of post-war years in her early childhood, hunger, a bombed city, which women had cleared with their hands, banned back to the kitchen, curtailed in their rights. She joined the students` rebellions in the 1968ies protest against those who sat in key positions, shielded Nazi culprits. A great impact on her later writing as well as her family`s sense for justice, tolerance and vibrant empathy for those who suffer. As a teacher for languages, ethics/ philosophy and drama at secondary schools, she studied body- work, Qigong and expressive dance, gave workshops for adults, became a coach for colleagues who taught acting. Besides writing plays for children, a collection of pieces for puppet players, she took to writing poetry in 2004.

Born in Wisconsin, I spent an undergraduate year + in Germany as one of the first U.S. exchange students after World War II (1949-50), after which I finished a B.A. (1952) at Wisconsin State College/Milwaukee, and took an M.A. (1953), and a Ph.D. (1957) at U. Wisconsin/Madison in German Language & Literature, which I then began teaching at Mt. Holyoke College (1957-59), subsequently at Harvard (1959-61), until settling at Oberlin College in 1961. At Oberlin I continued teaching German until, in the mid 1970s, with help from colleagues, I founded Oberlin's Creative Writing Program, which I directed until retiring in 1997. Along the way, also with colleagues, I co-founded Field Magazine, later the Field Translation Series and Oberlin College Press.