Handke to Dusseldorf: No Thanks

Peter Handke has now officially turned down the Heine Prize before the Dusseldorf city council can vote to veto the decision of the prize's jury to award it to him.

"I am writing to you to spare you and the world from the upcoming sitting of the city council in which they will decide not to give me the prize," Handke said in the letter. "Also to spare myself ... and above all to spare my work, which I do not want to become an endless target for the vulgar insults of party politicians."

He's right. Politically laden prizes can be more trouble than they're worth. Why indeed empower politicians to tarnish his life's work.

More in today's Deutsche Welle.