Gertrud Leutenegger (born 1948) is a German-speaking Swiss poet, novelist, playwright and theatre director.
[Böttcher, Kurt, et al., eds., ''Lexikon deutschsprachiger Schriftsteller 20. Jahrhundert.'' Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlag, 1993, p. 476. ]
Life
Gertrud Leutenegger was born and grew up in
Schwyz
The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.
The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the '' ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, where her father was a book editor. She later lived in both the Italian-speaking and French-speaking parts of Switzerland. After completing her secondary education she initially undertook teacher training and became a Kindergarten teacher. She also worked in a psychiatric clinic for a time and was as a custodian at the Nietzsche House in
Sils Maria
Sils im Engadin/Segl (german: Sils im Engadin; Romansh ), often also as ''Sils i.E./Segl'', is a municipality and village in the Maloja Region, Upper Engadine in the Swiss canton of the Grisons.
It consists of two villages, Segl Maria (Romans ...
.
Leutenegger's interest in theatre led to drama studies at the
Zürich University of the Arts from 1976 to 1979 where she studied director's theatre (
Regietheater Regietheater (German for ''director's theater'') is the modern practice of allowing a director freedom in devising the way a given opera or play is staged so that the creator's original, specific intentions or stage directions (where supplied) can b ...
). She worked as assistant producer to
Jürgen Flimm
Jürgen Flimm (born 17 July 1941, in Gießen) is a German theater and opera director, and theater manager. After establishing himself as one of the exponents of Regietheater, Flimm was called to manage renowned theaters and festivals. His operatic ...
, a noted exponent of Regietheater, at the
Deutsches Schauspielhaus
The Deutsches Schauspielhaus is a theatre in the St. Georg quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany. It was established in 1901 by the renowned stage actress Franziska Ellmenreich.
Theatre managers
Notable actors
Marco Albrecht,
Ingrid ...
, Hamburg, in 1978.
In the same year, she was awarded the prestigious Jury Prize of the
Ingeborg Bachmann Prize
The Festival of German-Language Literature (german: Tage der deutschsprachigen Literatur, links=no) is a literary event which takes place annually in Klagenfurt, Austria. During this major literary festival which lasts for several days a number of ...
for her early literary work. Many other
prizes
A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements. and distinctions followed.
After short spells in Florence and Berlin, Leutenegger lived for a long time in Japan. She now lives in Zürich. In 2010 she was elected to the
German Academy for Language and Literature
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
in
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
.
Work
Leutenegger first came to prominence as a poet, later bringing her poetic vision to her novels, the first of which, ''Vorabend'', was published in 1975. Her work is noted for its subjective vision, use of myth and fairy tale, dreams and poetry.
There is also a strong element of political engagement, for example in the 1985 novel ''Kontinent'' which deals with issues of environmental damage.
Leutenegger's most recently published work was the novel ''Panischer Frühling''. This tells the story of a woman stranded in London when the eruption of the Icelandic volcano
Eyjafjallajökull
Eyjafjallajökull (; ), sometimes referred to by the numeronym E15, is one of the smaller ice caps of Iceland, north of Skógar and west of Mýrdalsjökull. The ice cap covers the caldera of a volcano with a summit elevation of . The volcan ...
in 2010 brought all air-traffic to a sudden halt. This was shortlisted for both the
Swiss Book Prize
The Swiss Book Prize (german: link=no, Schweizer Buchpreis) is a literary award awarded annually by a jury on behalf of the Swiss Booksellers' Association. The prize amount is CHF 30,000. The award was instituted in 2008 following the example of ...
and the
German Book Prize
The German Book Prize (''Deutscher Buchpreis'') is awarded annually, in October, by the German Publishers and Booksellers Association (''Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels'') to the best new German language novel of the year. The books, publ ...
in 2014 and was awarded the
Roswitha Prize
The Roswitha Prize (german: Roswitha-Preis) is the oldest German language prize for literature that is given solely to women.
The Roswitha-Medal has been given almost yearly since 1973 by the city of Bad Gandersheim.
In 1998 it received its moder ...
in the same year.
Selected awards
* 1978 Jury Prize of the
Ingeborg Bachmann Prize
The Festival of German-Language Literature (german: Tage der deutschsprachigen Literatur, links=no) is a literary event which takes place annually in Klagenfurt, Austria. During this major literary festival which lasts for several days a number of ...
* 1979
Droste-Preis
Droste-Preis is a literary prize awarded in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The city of Meersburg awards the Droste Prize in memory of the writer Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, who spent the last years of her life in Meersburg. It is awarded every thr ...
* 1986 Schweizerischen Schillerstiftung Prize
* 1999 Innerschweizer Kulturpreis
* 2009 Schillerpreis der Zürcher Kantonalbank: for ''Matutin''
* 2014 Shortlisted for the
Swiss Book Prize
The Swiss Book Prize (german: link=no, Schweizer Buchpreis) is a literary award awarded annually by a jury on behalf of the Swiss Booksellers' Association. The prize amount is CHF 30,000. The award was instituted in 2008 following the example of ...
: for ''Panischer Frühling''
* 2014 Shortlisted for the
German Book Prize
The German Book Prize (''Deutscher Buchpreis'') is awarded annually, in October, by the German Publishers and Booksellers Association (''Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels'') to the best new German language novel of the year. The books, publ ...
for ''Panischer Frühling''
* 2014
Roswitha-Preis
The Roswitha Prize (german: Roswitha-Preis) is the oldest German language prize for literature that is given solely to women.
The Roswitha-Medal has been given almost yearly since 1973 by the city of Bad Gandersheim.
In 1998 it received its moder ...
awarded by the town of
Bad Gandersheim
Bad Gandersheim ( Eastphalian: ''Ganderssen'') is a town in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the district of Northeim. , it had a population of 9,492.
Bad Gandersheim has many half-timbered houses and is located on the German Timber-F ...
for ''Panischer Frühling''
Works
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Literature
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leutenegger, Gertrud
1948 births
Living people
Swiss writers in German
Swiss theatre directors
21st-century Swiss poets
Swiss poets in German
Swiss women novelists
20th-century Swiss novelists
21st-century Swiss novelists
20th-century Swiss poets
People from the canton of Schwyz
Swiss women poets
20th-century Swiss women writers
21st-century Swiss women writers