Yvette Z'Graggen (31 March 1920 - 16 April 2012) was a Swiss writer and translator.

Early life and education

Yvette Z'Graggen was born in Geneva on 31 March 1920 to Alice (née Hekschohann) and Heinrich Z'Graggen. Her father was Swiss German and a dentist and her mother came from

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, with Hungarian ancestry. Her paternal grandfather came from the

canton of Uri The canton of Uri ( ; ; ; ) is one of the cantons of switzerland, 26 cantons of Switzerland and a founding member of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is located in Central Switzerland. The canton's territory covers the valley of the Reuss ...

and had moved to Graubünden.Nicoletta Cimino: ''Ich bin ein gefallenes Mädchen – sei’s drum.'' In: ''Die Zeit.'' Nr. 14 vom 26. März 2020 Her parents spoke

High German The High German languages (, i.e. ''High German dialects''), or simply High German ( ) – not to be confused with Standard High German which is commonly also called "High German" – comprise the varieties of German spoken south of the Ben ...

when she was young, her mother in memory of Vienna, her father because he preferred it to the

Glarus Glarus (; ; ; ; ) is the capital of the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Since 1 January 2011, the municipality of Glarus incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern. The family were part of the Protestant Geneva bourgeoisie. At the age of six, she invented the characters Mimi and Noémie, who were allowed to do things that Z'Graggen was not allowed to do. She earned her high school Maturité in Geneva and then trained as a secretary. She also studied at the

University of Florence The University of Florence ( Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'') (in acronym UNIFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled. History The f ...

. During the Second World War, Z'Graggen worked for the

International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a aid agency, humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of Law of ...

from 1941 to 1946.

Career

In 1939 she wrote her first book, ''L'Appel du rêve'', which was published five years later in 1944 under the pseudonym Danièle Marnan. She wrote novels, autobiographical accounts, short stories and numerous radio plays. She translated works from Italian and German. Some of her books have been translated into German, Italian, Hungarian and Romanian. From 1949 to 1952, Z'Graggen she worked as a secretary at the Rencontres Internationales de Genève and at the European Cultural Society in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. From 1952 to 1982, she produced cultural and literary programmes for

Radio Suisse Romande The Radio Suisse Romande (RSR) was an enterprise unit within public-broadcasting corporation SRG SSR. It was responsible for the production and transmission of French-language radio programmes in Switzerland. RSR's headquarters were situated in ...

. From 1982 to 1989, Z'Graggen worked at the Comédie de Genève theatre when it was under the direction of

Benno Besson Benno Besson was a Swiss Theatre Director. Benno Besson (born René-Benjamin Besson; 4 November 1922 in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland – 23 February 2006 in Berlin, Germany) was a theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a ...

. Her 1982 book, ''Les années silencieuses'' (The Years of Silence) dealt with the Swiss refugee policy of the war years and the shame of those who had not recognised their shortcomings. In ''Matthias Berg'' (1995) and ''Ciel d'Allemagne'' (Germany's Sky (1996) she considered the ambivalent feelings her generation harboured towards Germany. ''In Mémoire d'elles'' (1999) she used two letters discovered in her late mother's belongings to explore the life of her grandmother.

Personal life

In 1953, she married Robert Brunel, with whom she had a daughter in 1963. The marriage ended in divorce in 1978.

Death and commemoration

Yvette Z'Graggen died on 16 April 2012 in Geneva at the age of 92, after a long illness. She was buried in the canton of Geneva. In 2015–2016, Frédéric Gonseth made a film about Z'Graggen's life, ''Une femme au volant de sa vie'', which was nominated for the Audience Award at the Journées de Soleure 2017 and released in cinemas later that year.

Works

* ''L'Appel du rêve'' (under the pseudonym Danièle Marnan), novel, Éditions Perret-Gentil, 1944 * ''La Vie attendait'', novel, J.-H. Jeheber, 1944, Éditions de l'Aire, 1996 * ''L'Herbe d'octobre'', novel, Jeheber, 1950, Éditions de L'Aire, 1989 * ''Le Filet de l'oiseleur'', novel, Jeheber, 1957, Éditions de L'Aire, 1996 * ''Un Été sans histoire'', novel, Éditions de la Baconnière, 1962, Éditions de L'Aire, 1987 * ''Chemins perdus'', three short stories, Éditions L'Aire, 1971 * ''Un Temps de colère et d'amour'', narrative, Éditions de L'Aire, 1980, 2004 * ''Les Années silencieuses'', narrative, Éditions de L'Aire, 1982, 1998 * ''Cornelia'', novel, Éditions de L'Aire, 1985, 2002 * ''Changer l'Oubli'', story, Éditions de L'Aire, 1989, 2001 * ''Les Collines'', ew ed. short story, Éditions de L'Aire, 1991, 1997 * ''La Punta'', novel, Éditions de L'Aire, 1992, 1995 * ''La Lézarde et autres nouvelles'', Éditions de L'Aire, 1993, 2004 * ''La Preuve; Un long voyage'', postf. by Sylviane Roche, Éditions Zoé, 1995 * ''Matthias Berg'', novel, Éditions de L'Aire, 1995, 1999 * ''Ciel d'Allemagne'', story, Éditions de L'Aire, 1996, 2000 * ''Quand la Vie n'attend plus'', interviews, Éditions de L'Aire, 1997 * ''Mémoire d'elles'', narrative, Éditions de L'Aire, 1999, 2006 * ''La Nuit n'est jamais complète'', diary of the year 2000, Éditions de L'Aire, 2001 * ''Un Etang sous la glace,'' novel, Éditions de L'Aire, 2003 * ''Éclats de vie'', Éditions de L'Aire, 2007 * ''Juste avant la pluie'', Éditions de L'Aire, 2011 Translations from Italian * Giorgio Orelli: ''Selected Poems'', Éditions de L'Aire, 1973 * Claudio Nembrini: ''Le Secret de San Carpoforo'', Zoé, 1990 * Angelo Casè: ''L'Espoir d'une vie meilleure'', Éditions de L'Aire, 1994 Translations from German *

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 ...

: ''Suisse sans armée? un palabre'', Bernard Campiche (ed.), 1989 *

Annemarie Schwarzenbach Annemarie Minna Renée Schwarzenbach (23 May 1908 – 15 November 1942) was a Swiss writer, journalist and photographer. Her bisexual mother brought her up in a masculine style, and her androgynous image suited the bohemian Berlin society of the ...

: ''La Vallée heureuse'', Éditions de L'Aire/Le Griot, 1991 * Urs Richle: ''Mall ou la disparition des montagnes'', Zoé, 1997 * Otto Steiger: ''La Patagonie peut-être'', Éditions de L'Aire, 2000

Awards

* 1981: prix Bibliomedia for ''Un temps de colère et d'amour'', 1980, Éditions de L'Aire. * 1982: prix de la Société genevoise des Écrivains for ''Les années silencieuses'', Éditions de L'Aire, 1982. * 1990: prix Pittard de l'Andelyn. * 1993: prix des auditeurs de la Radio suisse romande for ''La Punta'', Éditions de L'Aire, 1992. * 1996:

Schiller Prize The Schiller Prize was a Swiss literary award which was established in 1905 to promote Swiss literature and was awarded until 2012 when it was replaced as a national literary award by the Swiss Literature Awards. The prize was awarded by the S ...

. * 1998: prix Rambert, special centenary prize. * 2004: prix Lipp Suisse for ''Un étang sous la glace'', Éditions de L'Aire 2003. * 2012: prix Édouard-Rod posthumously for ''Juste avant la pluie'', Éditions de L'Aire 2011.

Bibliography

*
''Vidéo : ''Yvette Z'Graggen
en 1986. Elle évoque la place essentielle que l'écriture tient dans sa vie. Une archive de la Télévision suisse romande.
Yvette Z'Graggen sur Culturactif

References

{{Portal bar, Literature 1920 births 2012 deaths Swiss writers in French Swiss women novelists Swiss women People from Geneva Writers from Geneva Swiss people of Austrian descent 20th-century Swiss novelists 21st-century Swiss novelists 21st-century Swiss women writers