Peter von Matt (born 20 May 1937) is a Swiss philologist and author.

Life

Born in

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

, Peter von Matt grew up in

Stans Stans () is the capital of the canton of Nidwalden (Nidwald) in Switzerland. The official language of Stans is German (spoken there in the variety of Swiss Standard German), but the main language is the local variant of Alemannic Swiss German. ...

in the canton of

Nidwalden Nidwalden, also Nidwald (german: Kanton Nidwalden, ; rm, Chantun Sutsilvania; french: Canton de Nidwald; it, Canton Nidvaldo) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven municipalities and the seat of the ...

. He studied

Art History Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

as well as German and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

studies in Zurich and received a doctorate with

Emil Staiger Emil Staiger (8 February 1908, Kreuzlingen, Switzerland - 28 April 1987, Horgen, Switzerland) was a Swiss historian, writer, Germanist and Professor of German Studies at the University of Zurich. Life After graduating from school, Emil Staige ...

Franz Grillparzer Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the famous Burgtheater in Vien ...

. In 1970, he received his post doctorate lecturing qualifications with a work on E. T. A. Hoffmann. From 1976 to 2002, von Matt taught at the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

as a Professor of Newer German Literature. He was a guest professor at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1980 and a Fellow of the

Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin The Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin (german: Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin) is an interdisciplinary institute founded in 1981 in Grunewald, Berlin, Germany, dedicated to research projects in the natural and social sciences. It is modeled ...

in 1992/93. Von Matt is a member of the

Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung The Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (in English German Academy for Language and Literature) 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, ...

, the

Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (german: Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften), abbreviated BBAW, is the official academic society for the natural sciences and humanities for the States of Germany, German ...

, and the

Sächsische Akademie der Künste The Sächsische Akademie der Künste (Saxon Academy of Arts) is a German cultural organisation for the state of Saxony, based in Dresden. Purpose The Academy is a statutory corporation to promote the arts in Saxony, make proposals for its prom ...

(Saxon Academy of the Arts). He writes regular contributions for the '' Frankfurter Anthologie''. He is married to literary critic Beatrice von Matt-Albrecht and lives with her in

Dübendorf Dübendorf is a municipality in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is a suburb of Zürich in Switzerland with a population of about 30,000 (2021). It is the fourth largest city in the canton, after Zürich, Winter ...

near Zurich.

Works

* * * ) * ) * ) * * * ) * The Wild and the Ordered. About German Literature) * ) * Winner of the 2012 Swiss Book Prize.

Thesis

* ) *

Awards

*1991: Johann Heinrich Merck Prize for Literary Critque and Essay *1994:

Johann-Peter-Hebel-Preis The Johann-Peter-Hebel-Preis was endowed in 1936 in honour of the writer and dialectal poet Johann Peter Hebel. The prize is since 1974 awarded every two years (before every year) to writers, translators, essayists, media representatives or scient ...

*1995: Innerschweizer Kulturpreis (Innerswiss Culture Prize) *1997: Order of

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...

for Science and Art *1998: Prize of the Frankfurter Anthologie *2000: Art Prize of the City of Zurich *2001: Friedrich Märker Prize for Essayists *2002: Prix Européen de l'Essai Charles Veillon (Lausanne) *2004: Deutscher Sprachpreis (German Language Prize) *2006:

Heinrich Mann Prize The Heinrich Mann Prize () is an essay prize that has been awarded since 1953, first by the East German Academy of Arts, then by the Academy of Arts, Berlin. The prize, which comes with a €10,000 purse, is given annually on 27 March, Heinrich Ma ...

*2007: Brothers Grimm Prize of the University of Marburg *2012: Swiss Book Prize for ''Das Kalb vor der Gotthardpost'' *2014:

Goethe Prize The Goethe Prize of the City of Frankfurt (german: Goethe-Preis der Stadt Frankfurt am Main, links=no) is an award for achievement "worthy of honour in memory of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe" made by the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was u ...

External links

*
Literature by and on Peter von Matt
in the Catalog of the

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; german: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to colle ...

Entry about Peter von Matt
in the Writers Lexicon of the Association Authors of Switzerland (German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Matt, Peter von 1937 births Living people University of Zurich faculty Germanists Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Heinrich Mann Prize winners Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin People from Dübendorf Swiss Book Prize winners