German literature comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy and to a lesser extent works of the German diaspora. German literature of the modern period is mostly in Standard German, but there are some currents of literature influenced to a greater or lesser degree by dialects.
Friedrich 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, philosophical crime novels, and macabre satire. Dürrenmatt was a member of the Gruppe Olten, a group of left-wing Swiss writers who convened regularly at a restaurant in the city of Olten.
Patricia Highsmith was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character Tom Ripley.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1921.
The University of Bern is a university in the Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a broad choice of courses and programs in eight faculties and some 150 institutes. With around 19,000 students, the University of Bern is the third largest university in Switzerland.
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. The original Swiss Confederation, from its foundation in 1291 up to 1798, gained only a few French-speaking districts in what is now the Canton of Fribourg, and so the German language dominated. During that period the Swiss vernacular literature was in German, although in the 18th century, French became fashionable in Bern and elsewhere. At that time, Geneva and Lausanne were not yet Swiss: Geneva was an ally and Vaud a subject land. The French branch does not really begin to qualify as Swiss writing until after 1815, when the French-speaking regions gained full status as Swiss cantons. The Italian and Romansch-Ladin branches are less prominent.
Daniele Pantano is a poet, essayist, literary translator, artist, editor, and scholar. He was born in Langenthal, Switzerland, of Sicilian and German parentage. Pantano holds degrees in philosophy, literature, and creative writing. His poems have been translated into several languages, including Albanian, Arabic, Bulgarian, French, German, Italian, Kurdish, Slovenian, Persian, Russian, and Spanish. He is the former American editor of Härter, a prominent German literary magazine; co-editor of em: a review of text and image; publisher/faculty advisor of the Black Market Review; translations editor of The Adirondack Review, and editor of Saw Palm: Florida Literature and Art, Poems Niederngasse, and The M.A.G. Pantano curates The Abandoned Playground,TAP Editions, and is founding Director of the Refugee Poetry Project and Co-Director of the International Refugee Poetry Network. Pantano divides his time between Switzerland, the United States, and England. He has taught at the University of South Florida, where he also served as Director of the Writing Center, and, as visiting poet-in-residence, at Florida Southern College. In 2008, he joined the staff of Edge Hill University, England, as Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing and Programme Leader of the BA Creative Writing. In 2012, he was promoted to Reader in Poetry and Literary Translation. Pantano currently teaches at the University of Lincoln, where he is Associate Professor (Reader) in Creative Writing and Programme Leader for the MA Creative Writing.
Georges Poulet was a Belgian literary critic associated with the Geneva School. Best known for his four-volume work Studies in Human Time, Poulet rejected formalist approaches to literary criticism and advanced the theory that criticism requires the reader to open his or her mind to the consciousness of the author. His work has had a lasting influence on critics such as J. Hillis Miller.
The Swiss National Library is the national library of Switzerland. Part of the Federal Office of Culture, it is charged with collecting, cataloging and conserving information in all fields, disciplines, and media connected with Switzerland, as well as ensuring the widest possible accessibility and dissemination of such data.
Hermann Burger, was a Swiss poet, novelist and essayist. In his creative works Burger often focused on society's lonely outsiders and, increasingly, the inevitability of death. His virtuosity in applying literary styles and use of thorough research are significant features of many of his publications.
Hugo Loetscher was a Swiss writer and essayist.
The Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung was founded on 28 August 1949, on the 200th birthday of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt. It is seated in Darmstadt, since 1971 in the Glückert House at the Darmstadt Artists' Colony. It is a society of writers and scholars on matters pertaining to German language and literature in the Deutsche sprachraum, or Germanosphere.
Kurt Marti was a Swiss theologian and poet. His poetry often has theological and religious aspects to it. He is also known for dialect literature said to have intellectual quality.
Ventseslav Konstantinov was a Bulgarian writer, aphorist and translator of German and English literature.
A Dangerous Game is a 1956 novel by the Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Its original German title is Die Panne, which means "The breakdown". It is known as Traps in the United States. It tells the story of a traveller who, when his car breaks down, is invited for dinner by a former judge, after which nightmarish developments follow. The work was initially written as a radio play, but was adapted into prose almost immediately. It won the 1956 Blind War Veterans’ Prize for best radio play and the literary award of the newspaper Tribune de Lausanne.
The Diogenes Verlag is a Swiss publisher in Zurich, founded in 1952 by Daniel Keel, with a focus on literature, plays and cartoons. It has been managed since 2012 by the founder's son, Philipp Keel.
Heinz Ludwig Arnold was a German literary journalist and publisher. He was also a leading advocate for contemporary literature.
The Federal Department of Home Affairs is a department of the federal administration of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss ministry of the interior. As of 2012, it is headed by Federal Councillor Alain Berset.
The Centre Dürrenmatt Neuchâtel (CDN) exhibits Friedrich Dürrenmatt's paintings and drawings. It is a part of Swiss National Library, just like Swiss Literary Archives, which has a close cooperation with CDN.
