Kirsch, Sarah (1935– ), German writer and lyric poet. Born in the former German Democratic Republic, Kirsch studied biology at Halle and literature at the Johannes R. Becher Institute for Literature in Leipzig. In 1977 she emigrated to West Germany, where she continued to work as a freelance writer. Kirsch also wrote the texts for a number of illustrated children's books, among them two retellings of Grimm fairy tales: Hänsel und Gretel (1972) and Hans mein Igel (Hans my Hedgehog, 1980). Fairy‐tale motifs also frequently feature in her prose and poetry, as in Allerlei‐Rauh (1988), which includes a modern version of ‘Manypelts’.

— Caroline Schatke

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