 A theme of his newer works is often love in old age.Since 1976 he has been a member of the Academy of Arts, Berlin; he is also a member of the "Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur", Mainz and the "Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung", Darmstadt.In 2003 he was elected president of the Berlin Academy but left the presidency in December 2005 because of disagreements with the Academy's senate about public relations.