Let's make this birthday one to remember.

85 years old (Born on May 07, 1939)

Happy Birthday, Volker Braun! Another year older and still provoking us all—just as you did brilliantly in "Provokation für mich." Your words continue to tip the scales ("Die Kipper," anyone?) of literary brilliance. We hope your birthday is filled with fewer existential questions than your plays—but just enough drama for a good laugh.

Congratulations on another milestone since winning that prestigious Bremer Literature Prize back in '86; clearly, timelessness suits you well. May this next chapter be full of poetic inspiration—and perhaps slightly less provocation (though we doubt you'd have it any other way). Cheers to many more masterpieces ahead!