#swissliterature

[newvesselpress]

Have a very literary Christmas with our gorgeous holiday story anthologies. A VERY GERMAN CHRISTMAS, excerpted in this month's Harper’s magazine, is available along with other volumes in the series at Book Culture in NYC and an independent bookstore near you.

https://www.bookculture.com/book/9781939931887

[diogenesverlag]

#Repost @gute_seiten_schlechte_seiten ・・・ Als langjähriger Martin Suter Fan dachte ich eine Zeitlang, ich hätte mich überlesen, doch „Allmen und die Erotik“ war für mich wie nach Hause kommen. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So vertraut ist mir der humorvolle Ton dieser kurzweiligen Geschichte um den ewig in Geldsorgen steckenden, investigativ agierenden Johann Friedrich von Allmen und seine in herrlicher Komplizenschaft steckenden Angestellten. Ein leicht von der Hand fließender Stil führt den Leser geschickt und wortgewandt in Richtung Aufklärung, die für mich am Ende etwas holprig schien, dafür um so unerwarteter. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Nur die erotischen Meißen-Figürchen waren für dieses Foto leider nicht aufzufinden. #allmenunddieerotik #martinsuter #diogenesverlag #kriminalroman #johannfriedrichvonallmen #schweizerliteratur #guteseiten #bookstagram #meissnerporzellan #meissen #whitebook #swissliterature https://www.instagram.com/p/Bob8_n_lVal/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1dmzy926yer2d

[creatinglives]

Bericht eines Verlusts. Plinio Martini schrieb mit "Nicht Anfang und nicht Ende" über das vor hundert Jahren gängige Auswandern aus einem bettelarmen, vom Tod verfolgten Maggiatal im Tessin und über die echte Liebe. . Martini hielt das Leben zwischen tödlichen Bergklüften und den abgenutzten Kirchenbänken in den 1920-Jahren auf eine Art ein, dass man seine eigene Verwurzelung erkennt. Doch im Zentrum des Romans steht Gori, der sich innigst in Maddalena verliebt hat. Aus Scheu und, in seinen eigenen Worten, Dummheit machte er sich trotzdem ins lockende Amerika auf, wie er es zuvor abgemacht hat. Maddalena sollte eigentlich nachreisen, doch ab dann folgt die Reue und Heimat, die keine mehr wird. . Die zwei Hautpfiguren finde ich toll gezeichnet, alle anderen umfängt ein leichter Schleier von Unklarheit, was mich nicht sehr störte. Beeindruckt haben mich die lyrisch anmutenden Wendungen des Romans und ein Tempo, das in der Emotionalität verweilt, aber einen nicht hängen lässt. Ich las andere Texte über die vergangene Schweiz die mich noch mehr hineinzogen, aber gelohnt hat es sich! . #pliniomartini #martini #nichtanfangundnichtende #leseempfehlung #ilfondodelsacco #limmatverlag #tessin #literatur #ticino #guyswhoread #gayswhoread #swissliterature #igreads #literature #instagood #beautiful #photooftheday #visualsoflife #букстаграм #литература #тичино #швейцария #книги #мартини https://www.instagram.com/p/CNdHb6qBGMF/?igshid=7fkg2mytmszs

[littlegingerbookninja]

🇬🇧Finished #thepledge by #friedrichduerrenmatt I read #thejudgeandhishangman years ago in #school and I really liked his complex writing style. This #novela was pretty similar in style and I really liked it too. Especially the ending. ~~~~~~~~ 🇩🇪 Hab grade #dasversprechen von #friedrichdürrenmatt beendet. Irgendwann haben wir mal #derrichterundseinhenker in der Schule gelesen und schon da mochte ich seinen komplexen Schreibstil mit den #bandwurmsätze sehr gerne. Im Stil ähneln sich die Bücher und ich mochte auch dieses sehr gerne. Vor allem das etwas triste Ende hat mir gefallen. #crimenovel #swissliterature #dtvverlag #booklover #bookstagram #littlegingerbookninja https://www.instagram.com/p/B-fCaCvIqNv/?igshid=sctcecp40eil

[pittrarebooks]

Probably the best-known work of Swiss children’s literature is Heidi. The classic book set in the Alps has been translated from its original German into many languages. The first publication date for Heidi was 1881, but our Nesbitt Children’s Book Collection has a 1902 copy with a plaid cloth binding (we actually recently posted about other tartan bindings in our collection).

Author Johanna Spyri divided her story into two parts: “Heidi Finds Much to Learn” and “Heidi Makes Use of What She Has Learned.” If you are not familiar with the story, Heidi, a Swiss orphan girl, is sent to live with her grandfather in the Alps. Characterized by a cheerful, sweet personality and a fond love for the Alps and her grandfather, Heidi becomes a heroine by helping an invalid to walk again, and bringing her grandfather out of his self-enforced seclusion. 

Some Heidi trivia:

The full title of the book is Heidi: A Story for Children and Those who Love Children.

In the book, Heidi is only five years old when she is sent to her grandfather. The second half of the story skips forward three years later when she is eight, but most film adaptations begin with Heidi as an eight-year-old or older.

Film adaptations almost always portray Heidi with long blonde hair, but in the book it states that Heidi has short, dark curly hair.

None of the Heidi sequels, even the really old ones, were ever written or endorsed by Johanna Spyri. The first book is the only original story.

-Lauren Galloway, student employee

[swisscgny]

Festival Neue Literatur: «Queer as Volk» March 2-5, 2017

Festival Neue Literatur, the first and only festival to spotlight German-language and American fiction took place in its 8th edition last weekend from March 2 - 5, 2017 in New York City. Established as a collaborative project of New York’s leading German-language cultural institutions -  the Austrian Cultural Forum New York, the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York, the German Consulate New York, Deutsches Haus at Columbia University, Deutsches Haus at NYU, the Frankfurt Book Fair New York Inc. (formerly known as the German Book Office), Goethe-Institut New York, and with support from the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia – the festival annually presentsew writing from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States two writers from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland together with prominent US writers for readings and discussions in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The organizing committee of the Festival Neue Literatur and the invited authors.

This year’s edition of Festival Neue Literatur, curated by Peter Blackstock senior editor at Grove Atlantic, was themed «Queer as Volk» and presented  works by authors Marlen Schachinger and Jürgen Bauer from Austria, Antje Ravic Strubel and Fabian Hischmann from Germany, Simon Froehling and Zora del Buono from Switzerland and Darryl Pinckney and Francine Prose from the United States.

From L to R: Friedrich Ulfers, Ambassador André Schaller and Christian Ebner, Deputy Head, Austrian Cultural Forum at the Festival Neue Literatur opening.

The kick-off-event took place on Thursday, March 2nd at the Goethe-Institut New York with a combined opening party and Ulfers Prize ceremony. As a testimony to the rising importance of German-language literature in the US, the Friedrich Ulfers Prize is awarded annually since 2013 by Deutsches Haus at NYU as part of Festival Neue Literatur to a leading publisher, writer, translator, or scholar who has championed the advancement of German-language literature in the United States. This year’s recipient of the price is Barbara Epler at New Directions Publishing Group, who is a leading figure in publishing works in translation. The following laudation in Barbara Epler’s honor was given by Susan Bernofsky, author, translator and director of the Literary Translation Program in the MFA Writing Program at Columbia University School of Arts. Bernofsky is currently working on a biography of the great Swiss-German modernist author Robert Walser, whose texts she has been translating for over twenty-five years, many of which have been published by Barbara Epler at New Directions.

Interview with the Swiss author Simon Froehling, moderated by festival curator Peter Blackstock at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York.

On Friday, the first public event «Word With Writers» took place at the Austrian Cultural Forum and gave selected students from Columbia University, Pratt Institute, New York University, Vassar College, and Hunter College the opportunity to interview the German-language authors in front of a live audience. This event as well as all subsequent FNL-events threw queerness into various perspectives. The authors addressed how in the recent political climate, both in the United States and in Europe, stories about the LGBTQ community have become more critical. Questions were discussed on how queer stories reach readers and how we ensure that the stories of LGBTQ people are told in a time of rising reactionary sentiment. The Saturday noon discussion addressed the importance of translation at the margins at the Bowery Poetry Club, followed by an intimate panel, about how LGBTQ lives come into literature, at the PowerHouse Books.

From L to R: William Johnson, Simon Froehling and Francine Prose.

The next day offered readings from the six German-language authors of Festival Neue Literatur at Deutsches Haus at NYU, providing a taste of new writing from Switzerland, Germany and Austria. And last but not least, the final event «Silence Is Violence: LGBTQ Writing in a Fracturing Political Climate» enabled a lively panel discussion of the intersection between LGBTQ writing and politics at the McNally Jackson Books. Swiss author Simon Froehling contributed with his romantic novel «Lange Nächte Tag», a tale of a Swiss couple reeling from a positive HIV diagnosis. Simon has received numerous awards for his work, most recently the Network cultural prize 2014 for his contribution to queer arts.

From L to R: Peter Blackstock, FNL Curator, Brittany Hazelwood, FNL Director and Garth Greenwell, FNL Chair Person.

Check out the Festival’s website to get more information. You can also read more about the festival in media coverage from Publishing Perspectives. Find here Garth Greenwell’s interview and the podcast with Barbara Epler on Festival Neue Literatur and the Ulfers Prize. Social media mentions of the festival can be found by searching the hashtag #queerasvolk.

Thank you all the authors and translators, who made this festival so unique. We’re already looking forward to next year’s festival!

[kalidesautelsreads]

Heidi - Johanna Spyri (1881) Heidi Grows Up - Charles Tritten (1938) ❤️❤️❤️❤️ I will preface this review by mentioning that yes, both books were written by different authors, and they were written almost half a century apart, but I was introduced to them as a set, and thus, my review is for the set ;) Heidi is a gorgeous children's story from the 19th Century, telling the story of a little orphan girl being raised by her curmudgeonly grandfather, The Alm Uncle. The first part of the first story involves Heidi becoming accustomed to, and adoring the simple life on the Alps with her newly discovered grandfather. Her grandfather is a hermit who eschews as much contact with his neighbors and the nearby village as possible, due to a long held hurt. The second part involves Heidi being forced to live in town, missing her family, but befriending the "invalid" Clara and her Grandmama. Heidi learns to read and write, before returning home to the Alps. The second story, Heidi Grows Up is infinitely less than Heidi, lacking the spark that draws the reader to Heidi. In the second book, Heidi joins a boarding school to practice her violin, decides to become a teacher and falls in love. As a consummate lover of classic children's books, I recommend reading the Heidi collection (which also includes Heidi's Children) whether for ones own enjoyment or to introduce young readers to the tiny heroine. Heidi - 352 Pages; Heidi Grows Up - 190 pages. #heidi #heidigrowsup #johannaspyri #charlestritten #swiss #swissalps #alps #mountaincure #1881 #1938 #fiction #childrensbooks #childrensliterature #swissliterature #bibliophile #bookstagrammer #sequel #bestseller #collection #bookstagram #book #booklove #bookclub #books #booksbooksandmorebooks #bookclubofinstagram #read #reader #reading #readersofinstagram #kalidesautelsreads

[seagull-books]

Fresh off the press. 'In the Congo' by Urs Widmer. #literature #germanliterature #swissliterature #prohelvetia #translation (at Seagull Books)

[swisscgny]

A Literary Performance by Michael Fehr and Manuel Troller at the Swiss Residence

Earlier this month, we had the pleasure of welcoming renowned Swiss author Michael Fehr and guitarist Manuel Troller at the Residence of Swiss Consul General in New York, Ambassador André Schaller, and his wife, Brigitte Schaller-Schoepf, to celebrate the launch of literary magazine Trafika Europe’s exclusive Swiss edition, ‘Swiss Delights’.

From left to right: Swiss author Michael Fehr, director Trafika Europe, Andrew Singer, co-editor of Trafika Europe’s ‘Swiss Delights’ Tess Lewis, Ambassador André Schaller and guitarist Manuel Troller.

The evening included a discussion between author Michael Fehr, co-editor of Trafika Europe’s ‘Swiss Delights’ edition, Tess Lewis and director of Trafika Europe, Andrew Singer. Trafika Europe showcases some of the best new literature from the 47 countries of Council of Europe four times a year, usually focusing on authors from specific regions or language communities. ‘Swiss Delights’, however, is the first edition devoted entirely to one country. Switzerland, as co-editor Tess Lewis highlighted, exhibits an unconventional trend in literature, particularly in the area of biographies and in the case of Michael Fehr, thrillers. His thriller, ‘Simeliberg’, is a ‘Klangkunstwerk’, a sound artwork, relying on intonation and rhythm to tell a story.

Discussion between Andrew Singer, Tess Lewis and Michael Fehr.

To celebrate the launch of ‘Trafika Europe’, author Michael Fehr offered guests a literary performance together with guitarist and composer Manuel Troller to give a taste of his work, and to truly appreciate the extent of his ‘Klangkunstwerk’. As Michael Fehr commented, “a true poet is close to the sounds of the language.” Michael Fehr’s bluesy voice, Manuel Troller’s tranquil guitar and the performance overall, captivated the audience, highlighting Fehr’s incredible storytelling abilities. The songs, or rather stories, that Fehr told revolved around everyday objects: flies, whiskey, cotton fields.   

In between songs, Michael Fehr elaborated on his creative process, stressing that to him, “stories are always pictures.” To Michael Fehr, adding musicality to his texts is a permanent experience, making the storytelling process more fluid. The unique collaboration between the author and guitarist/composer Michael Troller, who works in several diverse musical genres, according to Michael Fehr, is possible because both of them think in narration. 

Michael Fehr studied at the Swiss Institute for Literature in Biel and the Institute of the Arts College in Berne. He is the author of Kurz vor der Erlösung (2013), Simeliberg (2014) and Glanz und Schatten (2017). In 2014, Michael Fehr’s Simeliberg received the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize (Kelag Prize). One year later, it was honored by the Literature Prize of the canton of Berne, the same prize Fehr had received in 2013 for Kurz vor der Erlösung. Michael Fehr is co-founder and curator of the Babelsprech, an international project for the promotion of young poetry. Since 2013, he has been a member of the jury of Treibhaus, a competitive platform for writers. In close collaboration with Manuel Troller, some of his texts have become original songs, with narrative solo performances and concerts internationally.

Manuel Troller, guitarist and composer, works in diverse musical genres. Since 2006, he has been playing and composing with the internationally active Band Schnellertollermeier. He has been pushing the boundaries of his instrument with preparations, extended techniques, sound manipulation and a fine sense for the moment, to become one of the most in-demand guitar players in Switzerland. Manuel Troller studied at the School of Music Lucerne, Switzerland and has collaborated with Sophie Hunger, Gerry Hemingway, Nik Bärtsch, Julian Sartorius, Stephan Eicher among others.

Literary performance by Swiss author Michael Fehr and guitarist Manuel Troller.

Read the Trafika Europe’s  edition «Swiss Delights» here.

If you want to find out more about literature from Europe, visit Trafika Europe’s website and Trafika Europe Radio presented in a brief Welcome video here. We also recommend the discussion with translator Tess Lewis sharing insights from her work translating Swiss novelist Jean-Luc Benoziglio’s Privy Portrait from French.

[swisscgny]

Christian Kracht and Daniel Bowles at Yale University

On Wednesday, April 5 we had the pleasure of attending a reading and discussion of one of the most renowned contemporary germanophone authors, Christian Kracht and his translator Daniel Bowles who presented Kracht’s acclaimed novels Imperium and Die Toten at the beautiful William Harknes Hall at Yale University. Hosted by the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, the evening opened with an introduction by Professor Kirk Wetters, Chair of the German Department and Marcel Schmid, postdoctoral fellow of the Swiss National Science Foundation. Kracht presented a captivating reading from Imperium. A Fiction of the South Sea, in German and English and from Die Toten (‘The Dead’) Kracht's latest novel in German. A lively discussion followed between Kracht and Bowled, moderated by Patrick Wolf-Farré, Lector Germanic Languages & Literatures at Yale. The event concluded with aQ&A and a book signing where students and Kracht enthusiast had a chance to speak with the author face to face. The following day Kracht and Bowles were also hosted by Deutsches Haus at Columbia University as part of the opening event of the Expanded Quotation conference on April 6.

Imperium, a funny, bizarre, shocking and poignant satire, was published in 2012 and translated from German by Daniel Bowles in 2015. It is based on a true story. It is the story of August Engelhardt, a radical vegetarian and nudist from Nurenberg, Germany, in the early 1900s. Convinced by a utopian society founded on nudism and a diet of coconuts, so-called cocovorism, Engelhardt travels from Germany to German New Guinea, to realize his ideas on a coconut plantation. As the years pass, this cocovorism does not go well. Engelhardt, abandoned, undernourished, paranoid and suffering from leprosy, has rejected most of his philosophy, developed an abstruse anti-Semitic conspiracy theory, and now advocates cannibalism as the path to divinity. He becomes a minor zoo attraction for curious gawkers, but survives by eating coconuts, grass and bugs. Finally his biography is turned into a Hollywood film. By using the eccentric details of Engelhardt’s life, the bestselling author creates a tale about the allure of ideological extremism and its fundamental foolishness.

From left to right: Head of Cultural Affairs Matthias Dettling, Christian Kracht, Daniel Bowles on the Yale Campus.

Die Toten was published in 2016, whereas its English translation is still in preparation. The story of Die Toten is set in the film industry at the end of the blazing years of the Weimar era. During this time when the German film culture came into bloom, the Swiss director Nägeli succeeds in convincing the tycoon of the German film company UFA to finance the production of a gothic movie in Japan. At the same time, Japan plans to cooperate with the Weimar Republic to compete with the rising American film industry. The novel tells the story of the Japanese government official Masahiko and the Swiss director Nägeli, who returns from his business trip with a collection of black and white, flickering scenarios, instead of a gothic movie. Structured like a Japanese Noh play with three acts, the narrative celebrates the motion pictures as the art form of modernity and the artist’s longing for transcendence and salvation.

Christian Kracht’s fourth novel Imperium was awarded the literature prize for the Swiss canton of Berne and the prestigious Wilhelm Raabe Literature Prize in 2012 and has been translated in over 25 different languages. For the translation of Imperium, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Daniel Bowles received the Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize in 2016. It was one of Publishers Weekly’s Ten Best Books of 2015, the Huffington Post’s Best Fiction Book of the Year and currently on the long list for this year’s International Dublin Literary Award. His fifth novel Die Toten was honored by the Swiss Book Prize, as a tribute to the silent film, and by the Herman-Hesse-Prize in 2016. Moreover, it is nominated for the Bavarian Book Prize.

Christian Kracht’s latest novels Imperium and Die Toten.

Christian Kracht is a Swiss novelist and journalist. He worked for a number of renowned magazines and newspapers and collaborated regularly with other authors and artists. From 2004 to 2006 he edited the independent literary magazine Der Freund together with the German author and journalist Eckhart Nickel. His first novel Faserland, published in 1995, is considered as a founding document of the pop literature. Daniel Bowles is an Assistant Professor of German Studies at Boston College and researches and teaches twentieth-century and contemporary German literature, culture and history. His first book, The Ends of Satire: Legacies of Satire in Postwar German Writing, appeared in 2015. Furthermore, he has published numerous translations of novels and short texts by distinguished authors like Thomas Meinecke or Alexander Kluge.

Read here the book reviews of Imperium from the New York Times and of Die Toten from the Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

[creatinglives]

When you think about swiss writers you may first think of Friedrich Dürrenmatt and Max Frisch, which belong to my all time favorites. But today I have to stand up for two terrific writers that seem to go a bit missing these days. . Take a look at Gottfried Keller (1819-1890) and at Meinrad Inglin (1893-1971), two classic swiss writers that both worked with a special view about landscapes, Keller in a romantic way, Inglin in a venerable way. Intelligent stories, with much love, a little bit nostalgia and much viliness. Stories and pictures that went into my heart. . #swissliterature #meinradinglin #gottfriedkeller #literature #igreads #classicliterature #bookstagram #instabook #bookstagrammer #guyswhoread #gayswhoread #instagood #beautiful #photooftheday #visualsoflife #inglin #lawine #einelanzebrechen #leseempfehlung #schweizerliteratur #букстаграм #литература #швейцария #келлер #инглин #классика {unpaid ad} https://www.instagram.com/p/BpH1XUCl5xY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1cyu29qweow6b