ERICH FRIED was born in Vienna in 1921. In 1938 he fled the Nazis and made his home in London where he worked as a journalist and as a commentator on the BBC's German Service. Though living in London he continued to write poetry and prose in German, publishing more than 20 volumes of poetry in German and translations of such writers as Sylvia Plath, Dylan Thomas and Shakespeare.
Four poetry volumes have been published in English translation: LAST HONOURS (Turret Books, 1968, translation Georg Rapp), ON PAIN OF SEEING (Swallow Press, 1969, translation Georg Rapp), 100 POEMS WITHOUT A COUNTRY (Red Dust Books, 1980, translation Stuart Hood), and LOVE POEMS (John Calder/Riverrun Press, 1991, 1999).
Erich Fried died in 1988 in London.
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CHILD IN PERU
Because his spine is twisted
because he is past shouting
because he stinks
because he is too weak
to go on living
the system
that is to blame
shall also not go on living
Because his spine is twisted
your explanations are twisted
Because he is past shouting
you cannot shout him down
Because he stinks
your whole system stinks
too strongly to go on living
to high heaven
where he won't get
--Erich Fried
from ON PAIN OF SEEING, 1969
Translated by Georg Rapp
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