Schweizer Bibliothek
Encyclopedia
Schweizer Bibliothek is a twenty-volume compilation of Swiss books, published in 2005/2006. The wide assortment of writers from all around the country is intended to represent 20th century Swiss literature
by showcasing twenty of the most important Swiss writers.
The collection was compiled by Das Magazin, a weekend supplement-style magazine enclosed with the Saturday editions of several newspapers (namely Tages-Anzeiger
(Zürich), Basler Zeitung
, Berner Zeitung
and Solothurner Tagblatt).
Readings with famous international writers including Salman Rushdie and Ian McEwan
were organized at the same time
, Corina Caduff, Werner Morlang, Peter Utz, Stefan Zweifel, and by the reviewers of the newspapers involved (e.g. Basler Zeitung, Berner Zeitung, Tages-Anzeiger).
The hardback books are high-grade and of simple design by graphic designer Ludovic Balland (studio "The Remingtons"). They feature no cover pictures, but can be identified from the big colored titles, punched into the front covers.
Swiss literature
There is no such thing as a Swiss national vernacular literature, as there is no dominant national language. The four main languages of French, Italian, German and Romansch form the four branches which make up a literature of Switzerland...
by showcasing twenty of the most important Swiss writers.
The collection was compiled by Das Magazin, a weekend supplement-style magazine enclosed with the Saturday editions of several newspapers (namely Tages-Anzeiger
Tages-Anzeiger
Tages-Anzeiger, also abbreviated Tagi or TA, is a German language Swiss national daily newspaper based in Zurich. Among newspapers in Switzerland, it has one of the largest readerships, reaching around 550,000 readers. The Tages-Anzeiger was first published in 1893...
(Zürich), Basler Zeitung
Basler Zeitung
Basler Zeitung is a regional newspaper, published in Basel, Switzerland. The German-language daily was created through the merger of National-Zeitung and Basler Nachrichten in 1977. It is owned by the Basler Zeitung Medien who also publishes the free daily newspaper Baslerstab.-External links:*...
, Berner Zeitung
Berner Zeitung
Berner Zeitung is a regional newspaper in the canton of Berne, Switzerland. With a distribution of 165,700 , it is number four of the daily newspapers in Switzerland and the leading newspaper in the Canton of Berne...
and Solothurner Tagblatt).
Readings with famous international writers including Salman Rushdie and Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan
Ian Russell McEwan CBE, FRSA, FRSL is a British novelist and screenwriter, and one of Britain's most highly regarded writers. In 2008, The Times named him among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945"....
were organized at the same time
Production and Editing of the volumes
One volume was issued every two weeks between 9 December 2005 and the middle of May 2006. The compilation was selected by different experts including Peter von MattPeter von Matt
-Life:Peter von Matt grew up in Stans in the canton of Nidwalden. He studied Art History as well as German and English studies in Zürich and received a doctorate with Emil Staiger on Franz Grillparzer. In 1970, he received his post doctorate lecturing qualifications with a work on E. T. A...
, Corina Caduff, Werner Morlang, Peter Utz, Stefan Zweifel, and by the reviewers of the newspapers involved (e.g. Basler Zeitung, Berner Zeitung, Tages-Anzeiger).
The hardback books are high-grade and of simple design by graphic designer Ludovic Balland (studio "The Remingtons"). They feature no cover pictures, but can be identified from the big colored titles, punched into the front covers.
The 20 books
- Friedrich GlauserFriedrich GlauserFriedrich Glauser was a German-language Swiss writer. He was a morphine and opium addict for most of his life. In his first novel Gourrama, written between 1928 and 1930, he treated his own experiences at the French Foreign Legion...
: Matto regiert (In Matto's Realm, 1936) - Markus WernerMarkus WernerMarkus Werner is a German-speaking Swiss writer, the author of Zündels Abgang .-Life:...
: Bis bald (1992) - Alice RivazAlice RivazAlice Rivaz was a Swiss author and feminist.- Life :She was born Alice Golay in the small Swiss municipality of Rovray. She spent much of her life in Geneva and originally studied music training to be a pianist...
: Schlaflose Nacht (Jette ton pain, original in 1979), translated by Markus HedigerMarkus HedigerMarkus Hediger is a Swiss writer and translator.-Life:Markus Hediger was born in Zürich and brought up in Reinach, Aargau. From 1980 to 1990 he studied French literature, Literary criticism and Italian literature at University of Zurich.At the age of 16 he went to Paris for the first time... - Max FrischMax FrischMax Rudolf Frisch was a Swiss playwright and novelist, regarded as highly representative of German-language literature after World War II. In his creative works Frisch paid particular attention to issues relating to problems of human identity, individuality, responsibility, morality and political...
: Der Mensch erscheint im Holozän (Man in the HoloceneMan in the HoloceneMan in the Holocene is a novella by Swiss author Max Frisch, originally published in German in 1979, and in English in The New Yorker on May 19, 1980 . A distinctive feature of this book’s style is the use of reprinted cutouts which the protagonist, Mr. Geiser, removes from several encyclopedias,...
, 1979) - Ruth Schweikert: Erdnüsse, Totschlagen (1994)
- Friedrich DürrenmattFriedrich DürrenmattFriedrich Dürrenmatt was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-garde dramas, philosophically deep crime novels, and often macabre satire...
: Der Verdacht (The Pledge, 1953) - Gertrud Leutenegger: Vorabend (Buch) (1975)
- Niklaus MeienbergNiklaus MeienbergNiklaus Meienberg was a Swiss writer and investigative journalist.Meienberg lived in Zürich and published 14 books in his lifetime. His works about recent Swiss history...
: St. Fiden Paris Oerlikon (1972–1992, Reportagensammlung) - Peter Weber: Der Wettermacher (1993)
- Nicolas BouvierNicolas BouvierNicolas Bouvier was a 20th-century Swiss traveller and writer as well as an iconographer and photographer.-Life:Bouvier was born at Grand-Lancy near Geneva, the youngest of three children...
: Der Skorpionsfisch (original is French, 1981 in German), translated by Barbara Erne - Thomas HürlimannThomas HürlimannThomas Hürlimann is a Swiss playwright and novelist.His 1989 novel Das Gartenhaus was published as The Couple in the United States in 1991.-External links:*. Goethe-Instituts Website...
: Das Gartenhaus (1989. English = The Couple) - Agota KristofAgota KristofÁgota Kristóf was a Hungarian writer, who lived in Switzerland and wrote in French. Kristof received the European prize for French literature for The Notebook . She won the 2001 Gottfried Keller Award in Switzerland and the Austrian State Prize for European Literature in 2008.- Biography :Kristof...
: Das grosse Heft (1986 original Le grand cahier, English = "the notebook"), translated by Eva Moldenhauer - Hugo LoetscherHugo LoetscherHugo Loetscher was a Swiss writer and essayist.- Life :Loetscher was born in Zürich, and grew up there. He studied philosophy, sociology and literature at the University of Zürich and the Sorbonne...
: Der Immune (1975) - Adolf MuschgAdolf MuschgAdolf Muschg is a Swiss writer and professor of literature. Muschg was a member of the Gruppe Olten.- His life :...
: „Liebesgeschichten“ (1972) - Urs Widmer: Der blaue Siphon (1992)
- Robert WalserRobert Walser (writer)Robert Walser , was a German-speaking Swiss writer.-1878–1897:...
: Der Gehülfe (1918) - Peter BichselPeter BichselPeter Bichsel is a popular Swiss-German writer and journalist representing modern German literature. He was a member of the Gruppe Olten....
: Die Jahreszeiten (1967) - Blaise CendrarsBlaise CendrarsFrédéric Louis Sauser , better known as Blaise Cendrars, was a Swiss novelist and poet naturalized French in 1916. He was a writer of considerable influence in the modernist movement.-Early years:...
: Moloch. Das Leben des Moravagine (1926), translated by Giò Waeckerlin Induni - Fleur JaeggyFleur JaeggyFleur Jaeggy is a Swiss writer, of Italian mother tongue.-Life:After completing her studies in Switzerland, Jaeggy went to live in Rome, where she met Ingeborg Bachmann and Thomas Bernhard. In 1968 she went to Milan to work for the publisher Adelphi Edizioni, and married Roberto Calasso. Her first...
: Die seligen Jahre der Züchtigung (Italian original 1989), translated by Barbara Schaden - Gerhard Meier: Der schnurgerade Kanal (1977)