Markus Werner (; 27 December 1944 – 3 July 2016) was a Swiss

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

, known as the author of the novels '' Zündels Abgang'' (''Zündel’s Exit''), ''Am Hang'' ('' On the Edge''), and ''Die kalte Schulter'' (''Cold Shoulder'').

Life

Markus Werner was born in

Eschlikon Eschlikon is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Münchwilen (district), Münchwilen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. History Eschlikon is first mentioned in 1280 as ''Aeslikon''. Duri ...

, in the canton of

Thurgau Thurgau (; ; ; ), anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland. I ...

. In 1948 the family moved to

Thayngen Thayngen () is a village and a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland. The neighboring village Barzheim merged with Thayngen on 1 January 2004. On 1 January 2009 Altdorf, Bibern, Hofen and Opfertshofen merged into Thayngen.< ...

(canton of

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...

) where Werner finished school and passed the general qualification for university entrance in 1965. At the university of

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

he studied

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

. In 1974 he completed a doctorate on

Max Frisch Max Rudolf Frisch (; 15 May 1911 – 4 April 1991) was a Swiss playwright and novelist. Frisch's works focused on problems of identity (social science), identity, individuality, Moral responsibility, responsibility, morality, and political commi ...

, whose writing has been an important influence on Werner. From 1975 to 1985, he worked as a teacher, and from 1985 to 1990 as an assistant professor at the '' Kantonsschule'' (high school) in Schaffhausen. He dedicated himself exclusively to writing after 1990. In 2002, he was elected 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, Frankfurt, Paulskirche in Frankfurt. I ...

in Darmstadt. Werner lived in Schaffhausen until his death in 2016.Markus Werner (1944–2016)
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Performances

The protagonists of Werner's novels have quit their jobs. From their perspectives Werner laconically describes everyday life, at turns astonished, with distress, and with humour. The results are strictly calculated scenes and episodes in which the course of the world appears in too sharp and sometimes laughable details, situations that Werner's protagonists simply cannot deal with. Seemingly harmless everyday perfidies break down Werner's characters: the deaf ears of their fellow men, their cold, headstrong souls. Human deficiencies are described in a tragicomical way. Werner sees the self-evident as something strange, is astonished and wonders like a child. His protagonists want the right to make mistakes and have deficiencies ("self-assuredness is the sign of the yokel", in: ''Die kalte Schulter'', a Chinese saying). They crave love, but at the same time curse the world and themselves.

Awards

* 1984 Prize of the Jürgen Ponto Foundation * 1984 and 1993 singular work award of the Swiss

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

Foundation * 1986 Georg Fischer Prize of the city Schaffhausen * 1990 Alemannic Literature Prize * 1993 Thomas Valentin Literature Prize * 1995 Prix littéraire Lipp; International Bodensee Literature Prize * 1997

Preis der SWR-Bestenliste Preis der SWR-Bestenliste is a literature prize awarded in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Winners *1978 Gerhard Roth *1979 Ludwig Fels *1980 Otto F. Walter *1981 Peter Weiss *1982 Franz Fühmann *1983 Oskar Pastior *1984 Christa Reinig *198 ...

* 1999

Hermann-Hesse-Literaturpreis The Hermann-Hesse-Literaturpreis is a literary prize of Germany in honour of German-born Swiss writer, poet and Nobel Prize winner Hermann Hesse. The award is presented in Karlsruhe. The prize sum is 15,000 Euros. Previous winners include Martin ...

* 2000 Joseph Breitbach Prize (jointly with Ilse Aichinger and

W. G. Sebald Winfried Georg Sebald (18 May 1944 – 14 December 2001), known as W. G. Sebald or (as he preferred) Max Sebald, was a German writer and academic. At the time of his death at the age of 57, he was according to ''The New Yorker'' ”widely recog ...

) * 2002 Johann Peter Hebel Prize of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

* 2005 Life achievement Award of the Swiss

Foundation * 2006 Bodensee Literature Prize

Works

* '' Zündels Abgang'' (1984). ''Zündel's Exit'', trans. Michael Hoffman (

Dalkey Archive Press Dalkey Archive Press is an American publisher of fiction, poetry, foreign translations and literary criticism specializing in the publication or republication of lesser-known, often avant-garde works. The company has offices in Funks Grove, Il ...

, 2013). * ''Froschnacht'' (1985). ''The Frog in the Throat'', trans. Michael Hoffman (New York Review Books, 2025) * ''Die kalte Schulter'' (1989). ''Cold Shoulder'', trans. Michael Hoffman (Dalkey Archive Press, 2016). * ''Bis bald'' (1992). "See You Soon" * ''Festland'' (1996). "Mainland" * ''Der ägyptische Heinrich'' (1999). "The Egyptian Heinrich" * ''Am Hang'' (2004). ''On the Edge'', trans. Robert E. Goodwin (Haus Publishing, 2012; NYRB Lit, 2014).

References

External links