Peter Bichsel: 85th Birthday on March 24, 2020

On March 24, 2020, Peter Bichsel, born in 1935, is celebrating his 85th birthday. The Swiss author is a unique voice that always represented political, socio-critical dedication in his writings. With his prose miniatures, Peter Bichsel is considered a »master of the short form«.

His volume of stories Actually, Frau Blum Would Really Like to Meet the Milkman, was the first publication with which he created ripples outside of the Swiss literary scene; the Gruppe 47 was enthusiastic about his work and awarded him their literary prize in 1965. He was a close friend of Max Frisch until the writer’s death in 1991. Apart from his prose and short stories, Bichsel began writing op-ed columns for the press in the 1970s – which revealed him to be a precise observer and at times biting critic of current events. Since the 1970s, his columns have far exceeded the 300 mark: stories from everyday life and about everyday life, snapshots, encounters, interjections as well as recollections.

»For almost fifty years now, Peter Bichsel has been achieving something every author wishes for: to be demanding and comprehensible at the same time, to be read by those, that is, who read a lot, but also by the others. He achieves this without bending his own aesthetics – without telling the common man what they want to hear or worshipping the intellectual opinion leaders.« Michel Mettler, Neue Zürcher Zeitung

»He is a storyteller who practises his metier skilfully and poignantly.« zeitzeichen

»To me, Peter Bichsel is a chronicler or the imperceptible life – with the dangerous proclivity for giving his characters the freedom to become liked by the reader.« Ingeborg Gleichauf, Badische Zeitung

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