Peter Stamm - salon du livre Genève 2012

Peter Stamm (born 18 January 1963 in Münsterlingen) is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

writer. His prize-winning books have been translated into more than thirty languages. For his entire body of work and his accomplishments in fiction, he was short-listed for the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

in 2013, and in 2014 he won the prestigious Friedrich Hölderlin Prize.

Life

Peter Stamm grew up in Weinfelden in the canton of

Thurgau Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is par ...

the son of an accountant. After completing primary and secondary school he spent three years as an apprentice accountant and then five as an accountant. He then chose to go back to school 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 ...

taking courses in a variety of fields including

English studies English studies (usually called simply English) is an academic discipline taught in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education in English-speaking countries; it is not to be confused with English taught as a foreign language, which ...

, Business informatics,

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

, and

Psychopathology Psychopathology is the study of abnormal cognition, behaviour, and experiences which differs according to social norms and rests upon a number of constructs that are deemed to be the social norm at any particular era. Biological psychopatholo ...

. During this time he also worked as an intern at a psychiatric clinic. After living for a time in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

he settled down in 1990 as a writer and freelance journalist in Zurich. He wrote articles for, among others, the

Neue Zürcher Zeitung The ''Neue Zürcher Zeitung'' (''NZZ''; "New Journal of Zürich") is a Swiss, German-language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zürich. The paper was founded in 1780. It was described as having a reputation as a high-quality ne ...

, the

Tages-Anzeiger ''Tages-Anzeiger'' (), also abbreviated ''Tagi'' or ''TA'', is a Swiss German-language national daily newspaper published in Zurich, Switzerland. History and profile The paper was first published under the name ''Tages-Anzeiger für Stadt und K ...

Die Weltwoche ''Die Weltwoche'' (German for "The World Week") is a Swiss weekly magazine based in Zürich. Founded in 1933, it has been privately owned by Roger Köppel since 2006. The magazine's regular columnists include the former president of the Social D ...

, and the satirical

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

Nebelspalter The ''Nebelspalter'' is a Swiss satirical magazine, which also has a political orientation in its online platform. It was founded in 1875 by Jean Nötzli of Zurich as an "''illustrated humorous political weekly''." The magazine was modelled on ...

. Since 1997 he has belonged to the editorial staff of the quarterly literary magazine "Entwürfe für Literatur." He lives in

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...

. Peter Stamm has written prose, radio drama, and plays. He is most known for his cool and sparse writing style. Since 2003 Stamm has been a member of the group "Autorinnen und Autoren der Schweiz" (Authors of Switzerland). In the fall term 2018 Peter Stamm was the tenth Friedrich Dürrenmatt Guest Professor for World Literature at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It ...

Prizes

Stamm has received a number of literature prizes. *1998: Ehrengabe des Kantons Zürich *1999:

Rauris Literature Prize The Rauris Literature Prize () is an annual Austrian literary award since 1972 by the Salzburg state government. The prize money is €10,000. It is awarded "for the best prose first publication by a German-speaking author from the previous year". ...

*2000:

Rheingau Literatur Preis Rheingau Literatur Preis is a literary prize of Hesse. It is awarded annually since 1994 by the which follows the Rheingau Musik Festival. An author is awarded whose prose gained the attention of the literary critics ("") The prize of 11,111 E ...

*2001: Ehrengabe der Stadt Zürich *2002: Preis der Schweizerischen Schillerstiftung *2002: Carl-Heinrich-Ernst-Kunstpreis *2013:

Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award __NOTOC__ The Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award—named in honour of Frank O'Connor, who devoted much of his work to the form—was an international literary award presented for the best short story collection. It was presented bet ...

shortlist ''We're Flying'' *2014:

Friedrich-Hölderlin-Preis Friedrich-Hölderlin-Preis is a German literary prize. It was established in 1983. In June, the City of Bad Homburg vor der Höhe annually awards the prize. It is endowed with 20,000 euros and is awarded as a general literary award for outstanding ...

of the town of

Bad Homburg Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's offic ...

*2017: Schiller Prize of the Zürcher Kantonalbank *2017:

Johann-Friedrich-von-Cotta-Literatur- und Übersetzerpreis der Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart The Johann-Friedrich-von-Cotta-Literatur- und Übersetzerpreis der Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart is a literary prize awarded in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, awarded every three years to writers and translators. The prize is endowed with €20,000. W ...

for ''Weit über das Land'' *2018:

Solothurner Literaturpreis The Solothurner Literaturpreis is a literary award for a literary achievement by a German language writer. Awarded since 1994, the annual prize is 15,000 Swiss francs. It is named after the city of Solothurn in Switzerland. Winners *1994: Mon ...

*2018: Heinrich-Heine guest lectureship *2018: Swiss Book Prize for ''Die sanfte Gleichgültigkeit der Welt''

Works

Prose

* ''Alles über den Mann'', 1995 (with

Brigitte Fries Brigitte is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Brigitte Amm, German rower * Brigitte Bardot (born 1934), a French actress and singer * Brigitte Becue (born 1972), a Belgian breaststroke swimmer * Brigitte Bierlein (bor ...

) * ''Gotthard'', 1997 (with Markus Bühler) * ''Agnes'', 1998 (translated by

Michael Hofmann Michael Hofmann (born 25 August 1957) is a German-born poet who writes in English and is a translator of texts from German. Biography Hofmann was born in Freiburg into a family with a literary tradition. His father was the German novelist Ger ...

as ''Agnes'', Other Press, 2016) * ''Blitzeis'', 1999 (translated by

as "Black Ice" in the first section of ''In Strange Gardens'', Other Press, 2006) * ''Ungefähre Landschaft'', 2001 (translated by

as ''Unformed Landscape'', Other Press, 2005) * ''In fremden Gärten'', 2003 (translated by

in the second section of ''In Strange Gardens'', Other Press, 2006) * ''Warum wir vor der Stadt wohnen'', 2005 (with

Jutta Bauer Jutta Bauer (born 9 January 1955) is a German writer and illustrator of children's books. For her "lasting contribution" as a children's illustrator she received the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 2010. Life Born in Volksdorf, Hamburg, she stud ...

) * ''An einem Tag wie diesem'', 2006 (translated by

as ''On a Day Like This'', Other Press, 2008) * ''Wir fliegen'', 2008 (translated by

in the first section of ''We're Flying'', Other Press, 2012) * ''Sieben Jahre'', 2009 (translated by

as ''Seven Years'', Other Press, 2011) * ''Seerücken'', 2011 (translated by

as "The Ridge" in the second section of ''We're Flying'', Other Press, 2012) * ''Nacht ist der Tag'', 2013 (translated by

as ''All Days are Night'', Other Press, 2014) * ''Weit über das Land'', 2016 (translated by

as ''To the Back of Beyond'', Other Press, 2017) * ''Die sanfte Gleichgültigkeit der Welt'', 2018 (translated by

as ''The Sweet Indifference of the World'', Other Press, 2020)

Plays

* ''Die Planung des Planes'' Monologue,

Schauspielhaus Zürich The Schauspielhaus Zürich ( en, Zürich playhouse) is one of the most prominent and important theatres in the German-speaking world. It is also known as "Pfauenbühne" (Peacock Stage). The large theatre has 750 seats. The also operates three st ...

* ''Fremd gehen'', 1995 * ''Après Soleil'' oder ''Wen der Wind zur Insel trägt'', 2002 * ''Der Kuss des Kohaku'', 2004 * ''Die Töchter von Taubenhain'', 2004

Radio dramas

* ''Ich und die anderen'' 1991 * ''Die Nacht der Gewohnheiten'' 1993 * ''In Vitro'' Zürich 1994 * ''Der letzte Autofahrer'' 1995 * ''Bildnis eines Knaben mit Peitsche'' 1995

Editor

* ''Diensttage'', 2003

Translations

Susan Musgrave Susan Musgrave (born March 12, 1951) is a Canadian poet and children's writer. She was born in Santa Cruz, California, to Canadian parents, and currently lives in British Columbia, dividing her time between Sidney and Haida Gwaii. She has been n ...

: ''Träum dir eine Badewanne'' (English: ''Dreams are More Real than Bathtubs''), 2002

In translation

Several of Stamm's works have been translated into English by

, and published in the United States by

Other Press Other Press is an independent publisher of literary fiction and nonfiction, based in New York City. Founded in 1998 to publish academic and psychoanalytic titles, Other Press has since expanded to publish novels, short stories, nonfiction, poetr ...

. These include novels ''Seven Years'', ''Agnes'', ''Unformed Landscape'', and ''On a Day Like This'', as well as ''In Strange Gardens and Other Stories'', a collection of short stories.

References

External links

Peter Stamm's website

Peter Stamm page at Other Press

Peter Stamm interviewed by close-up weblog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stamm, Peter 1963 births Living people People from Kreuzlingen District Swiss dramatists and playwrights Male dramatists and playwrights Swiss male writers Swiss accountants University of Zurich alumni People from Weinfelden Swiss Book Prize winners