In my last post I talked a little about German author Antje Ravic Strubel, and I promised more about the Wende Kids:

Here’s the definition from Antje’s website:

Wende Kids \ G `ven-d? `kids n -pl of KID\: [first usage, USA 2006]

1. East German authors born in the 1970s whose parents consciously experienced the GDR from its beginnings and who came of age when the Wall fell in 1989.  Having spent equal time in both systems, they write about their contradictory experiences and feelings as they navigate through the personal and historical upheaval of the post-Wall period.

Born in 1974, Strubel spent the first 15 years of her life on the east side of the Berlin Wall. Along with other authors such as Julia Schoch and Jana Hensel, the Wende Kids injected fresh life into the German literary scene. Their diverse cultural and political upbringing informed their writing style. Unlike their predecessors, these authors are not entirely subscribed to a particular political swing, and have had the opportunity to view their world from a somewhat neutral perspective, broadly speaking.

What I wouldn’t give to have grown up in post-Cold War Berlin. Slam poetry-like fiction readings in cafes, a revised world of literary connoisseurs coming together to share their ideas and observations about life and love and learning.