Swiss Literature: Get To Know Its Diverse Literary Scene

It has been said that reading is “talk written down.” This axiom may explain why the small, landlocked nation of Switzerland has produced literature in several other languages. Switzerland has no dominant language of its own, and its four main languages—German, Italian, French, and Romansch are the classifications that make up Swiss literature. Swiss authors living in each cultural area have produced works in their own language, so Switzerland has no “one” literature.

During both world wars, some attempts were made to unify Swiss literature, but language was more influential than national frontiers. Therefore, literature in Switzerland’s German-speaking area is closely aligned with the rest of the German-speaking world, and likewise for literature in all of the nation’s languages.

Swiss German Literature

The era of Swiss-German vernacular can be traced to Minnesang, traditional lyrics, and poetry beginning in the 12th century in the districts of the Swiss Federation of which Zurich was the literary center. A father and son team who were known as the two Manesses created a manuscript that was a collection of songs that are now preserved in Paris. Until the 15th century, when the legend of William Tell was established, historical chronicles, although not necessarily literature, were written in German rather than Latin.

In more modern times, a trio of classic figures of Swiss German literature includes a Lützelflüh pastor named Jeremias Gotthelf (1797-1854) who wrote about farm life in Emmental, Gottfried Keller (1819-1890), a novelist who wrote German literature and opposed the concept of independent Swiss works, and Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (1825-1898) who acquired fame writing historical novellas.

The most famous German-language Swiss literature would come in 1880 with Johanna Spyri’s Heidi novels. The story of the little Swiss orphan who lived in the Alps with her grandfather has now been translated into at least 50 languages. Also of note is the works of Swiss author Robert Walser (1878-1956), a Biel/Bienne native who authored the novels Geschwister Tanner (The Tanners) and Der Gehülfe (The Assistant).

Going into the 20th century, German author Hermann Hesse became a Swiss citizen in 1923 and is most famous for his novel The Glass Bead Game published in 1943. Schwyz native Meinrad Inglin (1893-1971) wrote realistic novels such as Der Gehülfe (The Assistant) about Switzerland in WWI.

The German author Thomas Mann (1885-1955) lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote about the spa resort of Davos in his novel The Magic Mountain. Max Frisch (1911-1991) was the author of The Firebugs and I’m Not Stiller. Leading contemporary German-Swiss literature, Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921-1990) became famous for his plays The Visit and The Physicists. He bequeathed his literary estate in his will to the Swiss Federation with the stipulation that an archive would be set up. In 1991, the archive opened in the Swiss National Library.

Swiss Italian Literature

Swiss Italian Literature has traditionally had strong Italian influences as opposed to a strictly Swiss nature. Italian-speaking Swiss authors have had stronger ties to Italy than their homeland.

Stefano Franscini (1796-1857) and Luigi Lavizzari (1814–1875), wrote general accounts about the canton of Ticino, their native Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. Emilio Motta (1844-1882) and Angelo Barotho (1908-1991) wrote in the genre of historical sciences and contributed to the “Historical Bulletin of Italian Switzerland,” a magazine founded by Motta in 1879.

Before the 19th century, this Swiss region produced more poets than novelists. The Poet Pietro Pen (1794–1869) translated the Swiss national anthem into Italian. Giovanni Airoldi (died prior to 1900) and JB Buzzi (1825–1898) were lyrical poets. More contemporary poets include Alberto Nessi (born in 1940), and two cousins Giorgio Orelli (1921-2013) and Giovanni Orelli (1928-2016.) Giorgio earned the Schiller Prize, Switzerland’s highest literary award,

One of the most famous Swiss-Italian poets and writers was Francesco Chiesa (1871-1973.) His works had a major influence on the culture of Ticino. One of his contemporaries, Giuseppe Zoppi, gained fame by writing the Book of the Alps.

Swiss French Literature

The earliest-known literary figure in the French-speaking region of Western Switzerland was the knight Othon of Grandson. Killed in a judicial duel in 1397, he left behind a few romantic poems. During the 15th and 16th centuries, miracle (mystery) plays were written in the local dialect. And in 1535, the First Protestant translation of the Bible was written by Pierre Robert Olivétan and Pierre de Vingle Neuchâtel.

In later times, Swiss-French literary figures included novelist Edouard Rod (1857-1910) and Marc Monnier (1827-1885), a novelist, poet, and critic. Some of their lesser-known contemporaries were Charles Du Bois-Melly, Oscar Huguenin, and Mlle Adele Huguenin who used the pen name T. Combe.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the French-speaking region of Switzerland produced several authors. Among the most famous was Geneva-born Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778.) And although Germaine de Stael (1766-1817) spent most of her youth in Paris, she settled on Lake Geneva after her exile by Napoleon. One of her contemporaries, author Benjamin Constant (1767-1830) was born in Lausanne.

One of the more recent Swiss-French authors, Charles Ferdinand Ramuz (1878-1947) wrote novels about mountain dwellers and alpine farmers. Like many French writers from Switzerland, Blaise Cendrars (1887-1961) from La Chaux-de-Fond left for the big city life in Paris. His works L’or (Gold) and The Fabulous Story of General Johann August Sutter are well-established in French literature.

Jacques Chessex (1934-2009) from Payerne, Switzerland won fame in France and was awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1973. His best-known works is UnJuif pour l’exemple ( A Jew Must Die.)

Romansh Literature

The smallest of Switzerland’s national languages, Romansh is only spoken by about one percent of the nation’s inhabitants. The oldest records written in Romansh prior to the 16th century were small manuscripts of only a few lines written in the 10th and 12th centuries.

Writings in the Romansh language before the 19th century were mostly religious and included Bible translations, biblical plays, and religious manuals.

Today, the Romansh language has several different dialect forms. It’s mostly spoken in the canton of Graubünden by about 35,000 people. Because of previous isolation in the valleys, at least five different dialects and idioms developed.

At the beginning of the 20th century, linguistics expert Caspar Decurtins assembled existing works into an anthology under the title of Caspar Decurtins.

Modern Romansh writers include the Alpine novelist Clà Biert, short-story writer Gian Fontana, novelist Leo Tuor, journalist Flurin Spescha, and a young writer named Arno Camenisch.

Swiss Literature Books You Need to Read

If you’re an avid reader, you won’t soon run out of excellent Swiss literature books to read. Here are five to get you started.

Jakob von Gunten by Robert Walser is the story of a young boy who runs away and enrolls in a mysterious school for servants. It’s run by a strict Herr Bejnamenta and his sweet but sickly sister. Jacob writes about the bizarre school and his ever-changing dreams in a journal. The story is in the same vein as dark fairytales. Walsar spent much of his life in a sanitorium where he wrote his novels on scraps of paper.

I’m Not Stiller by Max Frisch is the story of a gentleman arrested and imprisoned in a small Swiss village. He claims that his name is Jim White and that he has been falsely accused of charges under the wrong identity. The story’s theme is self-deception and acceptance.

Max Frish was from Zurich where he worked as a journalist and wrote columns for a major Swiss newspaper.

Fly Away, Pigeon by Melinda Nadj Abonj is a touching story about a family who immigrates from Yugoslavia to Switzerland during the Balkan War. The story is based on the author’s real-life experiences when she moved to German-speaking Switzerland from Yugoslavia at age five. Her writings have won her several accolades including the Zürcher Kantonalbank Schiller Prize.

Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse is the story of two medieval men who are close friends in spite of their differences. Narcissus is a devout Monk and Goldmund is a romantic seeking worldly experiences. The theme of the story is a conflict between the spirit and the selfishness of the flesh.

Hermann Hesse’s books were banned in Germany during the Nazi regime because of his antifascist beliefs. was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946.

Lila, Lila by Martin Suter is the story of a young man who falls in love with a woman. In order for David to be with Marie, he has to change everything about himself. Identity and self-philosophy is the theme of the story.

Swiss author Martin Suter was once a columnist for the Weltwoche newspaper. He has written 14 novels, seven screenplays, and four stage plays.