Martin R. Dean
Encyclopedia
Life
Dean was born in MenzikenMenziken
Menziken is a municipality in the district of Kulm in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:Menziken is first mentioned in 1045 as Manzinchouen though that comes from a 14th Century copy of the original document. In 1295 it was mentioned as Menzchon. However, the current site of Menziken...
to a Swiss mother and an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n physician from Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
. In 1976, he obtained his university entrance diploma at grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in Aarau
Aarau
Aarau is the capital of the northern Swiss canton of Aargau. The city is also the capital of the district of Aarau. It is German-speaking and predominantly Protestant. Aarau is situated on the Swiss plateau, in the valley of the Aar, on the river's right bank, and at the southern foot of the Jura...
. In 1977, he began studying German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, and ethnology
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
at Universität Basel. In 1986, he finished his studies with a licentiate work about Hans Henny Jahnn
Hans Henny Jahnn
Hans Henny Jahnn was a German playwright, novelist, and organ-builder.As a playwright, he wrote: Pastor Ephraim Magnus , which The Cambridge Guide to Theatre describes as a nihilistic, Expressionist play "stuffed with perversities and sado-masochistic motifs"; Coronation of Richard III ;...
’s novel "Perrudja", and graduated summa cum laude.
He traveled extensively and lived abroad for many years, in places such as South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. From 1990 to 1998, he taught at the Schule für Gestaltung (School for Design) in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
. In 1999, he started teaching German and philosophy at the grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in Muttenz
Muttenz
Muttenz is a municipality with a population of approximately 17,000 in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. It is located in the district of Arlesheim and next to the city of Basle.-History:...
. In 1995, he married a specialist in German studies, Dr. Silvia Henke, with whom he has a daughter.
Dean lives and works as a free writer and publicist
Publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
in Basel.
Awards
- 1983 "Rauriser Literaturpreis" for Die verborgenen Gärten
- 1988/89 Stipend at "Istituto Svizzero" in RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
- 1994 Complete work price of the Swiss Schiller Foundation
- 1997 Guest lecturer as "Poet in residence" at the “Gesamthochschule EssenEssen- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
” - 2003 Single work price of the Swiss Schiller Foundation
Works
- Die verborgenen Gärten, novel, 1982
- Die gefiederte Frau. Fünf Variationen über die Liebe, 1984
- Der Mann ohne Licht, novel, 1988
- Außer mir. Ein Journal, 1990
- Der Guayanaknoten, novel, 1994
- Die Ballade von Billie und Joe, novel, 1997
- Monsieur Fume oder Das Glück der Vergeßlichkeit, 1998
- Meine Väter, novel, 2003
- Zwischen Fichtenbaum und Palme. Kommentierte Textsammlung für den interkulturellen Deutschunterricht an Mittelschulen, 2005