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Peter Bichsel

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Peter Bichsel
Peter Bichsel in Solothurn, 2011
Born(1935-03-24)March 24, 1935
Lucerne, Switzerland
DiedMarch 15, 2025(2025-03-15) (aged 89)
Zuchwil, Switzerland
Occupation(s)Writer, journalist
Years active1960–2025
Known forShort stories
SpouseTherese Bichsel-Spörri (d. 2005)

Peter Bichsel (March 24, 1935 – March 15, 2025)[1] was a popular Swiss writer and journalist representing modern German literature. He was a member of the Gruppe Olten.[2]

Bichsel was born in 1935 in Lucerne, Switzerland, the son of manual labourers.[2] Shortly after he was born, the Bichsels moved to Olten, also in Switzerland.[3] After finishing school, he became an elementary school teacher, a job he held until 1968.[3] From 1974 to 1981 he was the personal advisor and speech writer of Willy Ritschard,[4] a member of the Swiss Federal Council.[5] Between 1972 and 1989 he made his mark as a "writer in residence" and a guest lecturer at American universities.[3] Bichsel lived on the outskirts of Solothurn for several decades.[6]

He started publishing short lyric works in newspapers.[7] In 1960, he got his first success in prose as a private printer. In the winter of 1963–1964, he took part in a writing course in prose taught by Walter Höllerer.[7]

One of his first and best-known works is And Really Frau Blum Would Very Much Like to Meet the Milkman.[8] Published only in a modest edition in 1964, the book was quickly sold out.[7] The reason was an enthusiastic review by Marcel Reich-Ranicki.[7] Just as successful, Children's Stories, intended for adults, is written in the form of droll tales for children.[9] Both books were translated from German by the English poet Michael Hamburger.[10][11] A theme of Bichsel's works for younger readers is the stubborn desire of children to take words literally and wreak havoc on the world of communicated ideas. In the early 1970s and 1980s, Bichsel's journalistic work pushed his literary work mainly into the background.[3] Only Der Busant (1985)[12] and Warten in Baden-Baden appeared again with the Bichsel style that was so familiar to German readers.[13] Peter Bichsel gave up being a professional teacher early in his lifetime, later he continued to teach his readers that the drudgery and banality of life are of our own making.[14] He used often a simple sentence structure 'subject-predicate-object' and was a passionate observer of Switzerland.[7][2]

In 1981, he was a member of the jury at the 31st Berlin International Film Festival.[15]

Peter Bichsel's estate is archived in the Swiss Literary Archives in Bern.[16]

Awards

[edit]
Peter Bichsel´s autograph

Short story collections

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  • Bichsel, Peter; Spinnler, Rolf; Gigandet (1960). Versuche über Gino. Ill. von Rolf Spinnler (in German). [Solothurn]: Gigandet. OCLC 80522070.
  • —— (2018). Eigentlich möchte Frau Blum den Milchmann kennenlernen: 21 Geschichten (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-39067-2.
    • —— (1968). And Really Frau Blum Would Very Much Like to Meet the Milkman. Marion Boyars Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7145-0083-6.
  • —— (1997). Die Jahreszeiten (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-39280-5.
  • —— (2013). Kindergeschichten (in German). Neuwied Berlin: Suhrkamp Taschenbuch Verl. ISBN 978-3-518-39142-6.
  • —— (2005). Des Schweizers Schweiz: Aufsätze (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-39269-0.
  • Inhaltsangabe der Langeweile (Hörspiel, 1971)[18]
  • —— (1998). Geschichten zur falschen Zeit: Kolumnen 1975 – 1978 (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-39372-7.
  • —— (1997). Der Leser. Das Erzählen: Frankfurter Poetik-Vorlesungen (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-39143-3.
  • —— (1998). Schulmeistereien (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-39341-3.
  • —— (2000). Der Busant: von Trinkern, Polizisten und der schönen Magelone (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-39601-8.
  • —— (1999). Irgendwo anderswo: Kolumnen 1980 - 1985. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-39432-8.
  • —— (2006). Möchten Sie Mozart gewesen sein? (in German). Stuttgart: Radius. ISBN 978-3-87173-355-0.
  • —— (1999). Im Gegenteil: Kolumnen 1986 - 1990 (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-39527-1.
  • —— (1993). Zur Stadt Paris: Geschichten (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-40538-3.
    • To the city of Paris. Text German/English. Translated by Michael Kuttner. Kolkata, Tarjama (2007)
  • —— (2002). Gegen unseren Briefträger konnte man nichts machen (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-39822-7.
  • —— (1998). Die Totaldemokraten: Aufsätze über die Schweiz (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-12087-3.
  • —— (2001). Cherubin Hammer und Cherubin Hammer (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-39665-0.
  • —— (2000). Alles von mir gelernt: Kolumnen 1995 - 1999 (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-41099-8.
  • —— (2015). Eisenbahnfahren (in German). Frankfurt am Main ; Leipzig: Insel Verlag. ISBN 978-3-458-17655-8.
  • —— (2003). Doktor Schleyers isabellenfarbige Winterschule: Kolumnen 2000 - 2002 (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-41389-0.
  • —— (2004). Das süsse Gift der Buchstaben: Reden zur Literatur (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-12353-9. OCLC 55653236.
  • —— (2004). Wo wir wohnen: Geschichten (in German). Frankfurt am Main Leipzig: Insel-Verl. ISBN 978-3-458-19253-4.
  • —— (2017). Im Hafen von Bern im Frühling (in German). Stuttgart: Radius. ISBN 978-3-87173-832-6.
  • —— (2018). Kolumnen, Kolumnen (in German). Berlin: Suhrkamp Verlag. ISBN 978-3-518-24172-1.
  • —— (2021). Im Winter muss mit Bananenbäumen etwas geschehen: Geschichten für die kalte Jahreszeit (in German). Berlin: Insel Verlag. ISBN 978-3-458-68178-6.
  • —— (2023). Die schöne Schwester Langeweile: Geschichten für jeden Tag (in German). Berlin: Insel Verlag. ISBN 978-3-458-68305-6.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Peter Bichsel. in: World authors, 1975–1980. Ed. Vineta Colby. New York: Wilson, 1985. ISBN 978-0-8242-0715-1
  • Rolf Jucker (ed.), Peter Bichsel. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1996. ISBN 978-0-7083-1380-0

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Celebrated Swiss author Peter Bichsel dies aged 89
  2. ^ a b c "Der Grossmeister des Kleinen: Peter Bichsel mit 89 Jahren gestorben". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). March 17, 2025. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Bichsel". Akademie der Künste, Berlin (in German). Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  4. ^ "Redenschreiber von Willi Ritschard – Business And Science". Business And Science (in German). Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  5. ^ Christoph Krummenacher (ckr) (March 17, 2025). "Peter Bichsels Leben in historischen Bildern: Blick ins Archiv". Solothurner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Schweizer Autor Peter Bichsel ist tot". Süddeutsche.de (in German). March 17, 2025. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d e Reinacher, Pia (March 17, 2025). "Peter Bichsel gestorben: Zum Tod des Schweizer Schriftstellers". FAZ.NET (in German). Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  8. ^ "Peter Bichsel: And Really Frau Blum Would Very Much Like to Meet the Milkman (Eigentlich möchte Frau Blum den Milchmann kennenlernen, Suhrkamp Verlag)". Suhrkamp Verlag (in German). February 25, 2025. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  9. ^ "Peter Bichsel: Children's Stories (Kindergeschichten, Suhrkamp Verlag)". Suhrkamp Verlag (in German). January 2, 1969. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  10. ^ "Catalog Record: And really Frau Blum would very much like to meet the milkman; 21 short stories". HathiTrust Digital Library. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  11. ^ "Stories for children; translated by Michael Hamburger". Catalogue. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  12. ^ Bichsel, Peter (May 3, 2021). "Der Busant. Buch von Peter Bichsel (Suhrkamp Verlag)". Suhrkamp Verlag (in German). Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  13. ^ "Journalismus erleben". NZZ Live – Journalismus erleben (in German). Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  14. ^ "PETER BICHSEL. GESCHICHTEN". walktanztheater (in German). March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  15. ^ "Berlinale 1981: Juries". berlinale.de. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  16. ^ "Bichsel, Peter: Archiv Peter Bichsel". Schweizerisches Literaturarchiv (in German). June 10, 2001. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  17. ^ "Peter Bichsel las in Bergen-Enkheim und in Frankfurt – BuchMarkt". BuchMarkt – Das Ideenmagazin für den Buchhandel (in German). Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  18. ^ "INHALTSANGABE DER LANGEWEILE". oe1.orf.at (in German). Retrieved March 17, 2025.
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