Adolf Muschg (born 13 May 1934) is a Swiss writer and professor of literature. Muschg was a member of the

Gruppe Olten The Gruppe Olten (Olten Group) was a club of left-wing Swiss writers who convened at Olten's "Bahnhofbuffet" (Swiss expression for a railway station restaurant) located in the canton of Solothurn in the Swiss plateau. It was founded in the aforeme ...

Biography

Adolf Muschg was born in

Zollikon Zollikon is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland known for being one of Switzerland's most exclusive districts. Besides the main settlement of Zollikon, which lies on the shore of Lake Zürich, the municip ...

, canton of

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

, Switzerland. He studied German studies, English studies and philosophy at the universities of

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

and earned his doctoral degree with a work about

Ernst Barlach Ernst Heinrich Barlach (2 January 1870 – 24 October 1938) was a German expressionist sculptor, medallist, printmaker and writer. Although he was a supporter of the war in the years leading to World War I, his participation in the war made hi ...

. Between 1959 and 1962, he worked as a teacher in Zürich. Different engagements as a teacher followed in (

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

), Japan and the US. From 1970 to 1999 Muschg was professor of German language and literature at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, Zürich. He wrote the foreword to Fritz Zorn’s controversial memoirs ''

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

''. The book pointed out the supposedly "cancer-causing" lifestyle of Zurich's wealthy gold coast and provoked a scandal in Switzerland; its author died of cancer before its release. Muschg was also provocative with works like ''Wenn Auschwitz in der Schweiz liegt'' ("If Auschwitz were in Switzerland"). His detractors suggest that Muschg was writing without direct experience. A theme of his newer works is often love in old age. Since 1976 he has been a member of the

Academy of Arts, Berlin The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...

; he is also a member of the

Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur The Academy of Sciences and Literature (german: Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur Mainz, AdW Mainz) is a scientific academy in Mainz, Germany. It was established in 1949 on an initiative of Alfred Döblin. The academy's goal is to su ...

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

and 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, ...

, Darmstadt. In 2003 he was elected president of the Berlin Academy but left the presidency in December 2005 because of disagreements with the academy's senate about public relations. Muschg lives in

Männedorf Männedorf (High Alemannic: ''Mänidoorf'') is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Like in all other villages along the lake of Zürich, archeological findings indicate settlements in the ...

near Zürich. His estate is archived in the Swiss Literary Archives in Bern.

Awards

* 1968 Conrad Ferdinand Meyer Prize * 1974 Hermann-Hesse-Literaturpreis * 1984 Zürich Literature Prize * 1990

Carl Zuckmayer Medal The Carl Zuckmayer Medal (german: Carl-Zuckmayer-Medaille) is a literary prize given by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in memory of Carl Zuckmayer. The medal itself was fashioned by state artist Otto Kallenbach. The prize is also given with a ...

* 1993 Ricarda-Huch-Preis * 1994

Georg Büchner Prize The Georg Büchner Prize (german: link=no, Georg-Büchner-Preis) is the most important literary prize for German language literature, along with the Goethe Prize. The award is named after dramatist and writer Georg Büchner, author of '' Woyzeck ...

* 1995 Vilenica International Literary Prize * 2001

Grimmelshausen-Preis Grimmelshausen-Preis is a literary prize in Germany, which is awarded since 1993 on every two years. The prize is named after Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, author of Simplicius Simplicissimus, a famous German book. The prize money is ...

* 2017 Prize of the Internationale Hermann-Hesse-Gesellschaft

Works

* ''Im Sommer des Hasen'', 1965 * ''Gegenzauber'', 1967 * ''Fremdkörper'', 1968 * ''Rumpelstilz. Ein kleinbürgerliches Trauerspiel'', 1968 * ''Mitgespielt'', 1969 * ''Papierwände'', 1970 * ''Die Aufgeregten von Goethe. Ein politisches Drama'', 1971 * ''Liebesgeschichten'', 1972 * ''Albissers Grund'', crime novel, 1974 * ''Entfernte Bekannte'', 1976 * ''Kellers Abend. Ein Stück aus dem 19. Jahrhundert'', 1976 * ''Noch ein Wunsch'', 1979 * ''Baiyun oder die Freundschaftsgesellschaft'', 1980 * ''Leib und Leben'', 1982 * ''Das Licht und der Schlüssel. Erziehungsroman eines Vampirs'', novel, 1984 * ''Goethe als Emigrant'', 1986 * ''Der Turmhahn und andere Lebensgeschichten'', 1987 * ''Der Rote Ritter. Eine Geschichte von Parzival'', 1993 * ''Herr, was fehlt euch? Zusprüche und Nachreden aus dem Sprechzimmer eines heiligen Grals'', 1994 * ''Nur ausziehen wollte sie sich nicht'', 1995 * ''Die Insel, die Kolumbus nicht gefunden hat. Sieben Gesichter Japans'', 1995 * ''O mein Heimatland!'', 1998 * ''Sutters Glück'', 2001 * ''Das gefangene Lächeln. Eine Erzählung'', 2002 * ''Gehen kann ich allein und andere Liebesgeschichten'', 2003 * ''Der Schein trügt nicht. Ueber Goethe'', 2004 * ''Eikan, du bist spät'', 2005

Other works

* ''Gottfried Keller'', biography, 1977 * ''Wenn Auschwitz in der Schweiz liegt'', 1997

Voice recordings

* ''Baiyun oder die Freundschaftsgesellschaft; Läufer und Brücken – eine unveröffentlichte Erzählung. Ausschnitte aus der Lesung in Hoser's Buchhandlung am 4. Oktober 1979'' (Hoser's Buchhandlung, Stuttgart, ohne Nummer) (1 LP)

Literature

* Judith Ricker-Abderhalden (ed.): ''Über Adolf Muschg''. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 1979, . * Renate Voris: ''Adolf Muschg''. C.H. Beck, Munich 1984. . * Manfred Dierks (ed.): ''Adolf Muschg''. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt 1989, . * Andreas Dorschel: 'Tüchtig nach Hause geleuchtet', in '' Süddeutsche Zeitung'', nr 103 (5 May 2004), p. 16. * Rüdiger Schaper: 'Wer im Glashaus schwitzt. Akademie-Präsident Adolf Muschg gibt auf', in:

Der Tagesspiegel ''Der Tagesspiegel'' (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington D.C. and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, ...

, nr 19047 (16 December 2005), . * Alexandre Mirlesse: ''En attendant l'Europe (Rencontre avec Adolf Muschg)''. La Contre Allée, Lille 2009, .

References

External links

Literary estate of Adolf Muschg
in the archive database HelveticArchives of the

Swiss National Library The Swiss National Library (german: Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek, french: Bibliothèque nationale suisse, it, Biblioteca nazionale svizzera, rm, Biblioteca naziunala svizra) is the national library of Switzerland. Part of the Federal Office ...

Publications by and about Adolf Muschg
in the catalogue Helveticat of the Swiss National Library
Portrait of the author
by Suhrkamp Verlag
Information by the ETH Zurich
*
Website of Adolf Muschg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muschg, Adolf 1934 births Living people People from Meilen District Swiss writers in German People associated with the University of Zurich ETH Zurich faculty Georg Büchner Prize winners Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin