Friedrich Dürrenmatt

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Friedrich Dürrenmatt (January 5, 1921 – December 14, 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theater whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author gained fame largely due to his avant-garde dramas, philosophically deep crime novels, and often macabre satire. One of his leading sentences was: "A story is not finished, until it took the worst turn". Dürrenmatt was a member of the Gruppe Olten.

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[edit] Biography

Dürrenmatt was born on January 5. 1921 in Konolfingen in the Emmental in the canton of Bern, the a son of a protestant pastor. His grandfather was the conservative politician Ulrich Dürrenmatt. The family moved to Bern in 1935. Dürrenmatt began a study of philosophy and German language and literature at the University of Zurich in 1941, but dropped out after only one semester. He continued his studies at the University of Bern. In 1943 he decided to become an author and stopped his academic career. In 1945-46, he wrote his first play Es steht geschrieben. On October 11 1946 he married the actress Lotti Geissler, who died on January 16 1983. Dürrenmatt married again in 1984 to another actress named Charlotte Kerr.

In addition to his primary work as a dramatic writer, Dürrenmatt was also an illustrator. He created illustrations for some of his own works, and his drawings were exhibited in Neuenburg in 1976 and 1985, as well as in Zürich in 1978.

[edit] Dramatic works

Like Brecht, Dürrenmatt explored the dramatic possibilities of epic theater. His plays are meant to involve the audience in a theoretical debate, rather than as purely passive entertainment.

When he was 26, his first play, It Is Written, premiered to great controversy. The story of the play revolves around a battle between a sensation-craving cynic and a religious fanatic who takes scripture literally, all of this taking place while the city they live in is under siege. The play's opening night in April, 1947 caused fights and protests in the audience.

His first major success was the play Romulus the Great. Set in the year 476 A.D., the play explores the last days of the Roman Empire, presided over, and brought about by its last emperor. The Visit (Der Besuch der alten Dame, 1956) which tells of a rich benefactor visiting her beneficiaries, is the work best known in the United States. The satirical drama The Physicists (Die Physiker, 1962) which deals with issues concerning science and its responsibility for dramatic and even dangerous changes to our world has also been presented in translation.

The two late works "Labyrinth" and "Turmbau zu Babel" are a collection of unfinished ideas, stories, and philosophical thoughts.

[edit] Later life

In 1990, he gave two famous speeches, one in honour of Václav Havel (Die Schweiz, ein Gefängnis? / Switzerland a Prison?), and the other in honour of Mikhail Gorbachev (Kants Hoffnung / Kants Hope). Dürrenmatt often compared the three Abrahamic religions and Marxism, which he also saw as a religion.

Even if there are several parallels between Dürrenmatt and Brecht, Dürrenmatt never took a political position, but represented a pragmatic philosophy of life. In 1969, he traveled in the USA, in 1974 to Israel, and in 1990 to Auschwitz in Poland.

Dürrenmatt died on December 14, 1990 in Neuchâtel.

[edit] Selected bibliography

  • Es steht geschrieben (1947)
  • Der Blinde (1947)
  • Romulus der Große (1950). Play translated as Romulus the Great: An Ahistorical Historical Comedy in Four Acts. See Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume 1, Plays (2006)
  • Der Richter und sein Henker (1952). Novella translated as The Judge and His Hangman. See The Inspector Barlach Mysteries (2006)
  • "Der Tunnel" 1952. Short story translated as "The Tunnel." See Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume 2, Fictions (2006)
  • Die Ehe des Herrn Mississippi (1952). Play translated as The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi. See Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume 1, Plays (2006)
  • Der Verdacht (1953)
  • "Theaterprobleme" (1954). Essay translated as "Theater Problems." See Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume 3, Essays (2006)
  • Der Besuch der alten Dame (1956). Play translated as The Visit. See Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume 1, Plays (2006)
  • Die Panne (1956). Short story translated as "Traps." See Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume 2, Fictions (2006)
  • Das Versprechen (1958). Novella translated as "The Pledge: Requiem for the Detective Novel". See Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume 2, Fictions (2006)
  • Die Physiker (1962). Play translated as The Physicists: A Comedy in Two Acts. See Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume 1, Plays (2006)
  • Der Meteor (1966)
  • "Monstervortrag" (1969). Lecture translated as "Monster Lecture on Justice and Law, with a Helvetian Interlude." See Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume 3, Essays (2006)
  • "Der Sturz' (1971). Short story translated as "The Coup." See Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume 2, Fictions (2006)
  • Achterloo (1982)
  • Justiz (1985)
  • The Assignment, translated by Joel Agee (New York: Random House, 1988). Reprinted in Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume 2, Fictions (2006)
  • The Execution of Justice, translated by John E. Woods (New York: Random House, 1989)
  • "Die Schweiz--ein Gefängnis. Rede auf Vaclav Havel" (1990). Speech translated as "Switzerland--A Prison: A Speech for Vaclav Havel." See Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume 3, Essays (2006)
  • The Pledge, translated by Joel Agee (2000; repr., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006) ISBN 0-226-17437-9. Included also in Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume 2, Fictions (2006)
  • Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume 1, Plays, translated by Joel Agee, edited and with an Introduction by Kenneth J. Northcott (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006) ISBN 0-226-17426-3
  • Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume 2, Fictions, translated by Joel Agee, edited and with an Introduction by Theodore Ziolkowski (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006) ISBN 0-226-17429-8
  • Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Selected Writings, Volume 3, Essays, translated by Joel Agee, edited by Kenneth J. Northcott with an Introduction by Brian Evenson (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006) ISBN 0-226-17432-8
  • The Inspector Barlach Mysteries: The Judge and His Hangman and Suspicion, translated by Joel Agee, with a foreword by Sven Birkerts (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006) ISBN 0-226-17437-9

[edit] Dürrenmatt's stories in film

[edit] References

[edit] External Links

  • Friedrich Dürrenmatt home page sponsored by the University of Chicago Press. Includes a 1969 interview with Dürrenmatt, his story "Smithy" and essay "Automobile and Railroad Nations," and essays on Dürrenmatt.
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