Marcel Reich-Ranicki

Marcel Reich-Ranicki
Reich-Ranicki in 2007
Born
Marceli Reich

(1920-06-02)2 June 1920
Died18 September 2013(2013-09-18) (aged 93)
OccupationLiterary critic
Notable awardsGoethe Prize (2002)
Spouse
Teofila
(m. 1942; died 2011)
ChildrenAndrew Ranicki

Marcel Reich-Ranicki (German: [maʁˈsɛl ˌʁaɪçʁaˈnɪtskiː]; born Marceli Reich; 2 June 1920 – 18 September 2013) was a Polish-born German literary critic and member of the informal literary association Gruppe 47. He was regarded as one of the most influential contemporary literary critics in the field of German literature and has often been called Literaturpapst ("Pope of Literature") in Germany. His TV appearances (including the literature TV show Das literarische Quartett) made Reich-Ranicki a household name even among non-readers; in 2010, a survey found that 98% of Germans had heard of him.