Peter Stamm
Encyclopedia
Life
Peter Stamm grew up in WeinfeldenWeinfelden
Weinfelden is a municipality in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. It is the capital of the district of the same name.Weinfelden is an old town, which was known during Roman times as Quivelda .-History:...
in the canton of Thurgau
Thurgau
Thurgau is a northeast canton of Switzerland. The population, , is . In 2007, there were a total of 47,390 who were resident foreigners. The capital is Frauenfeld.-History:...
the son of an accountant. After completing primary and secondary school he spent three years as an apprentice accountant and then 5 as an accountant. He then chose to go back to school at the University of Zurich
University of Zurich
The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....
taking courses in a variety of fields including English studies
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, Business informatics
Business informatics
Business informatics or organizational informatics is a discipline combining information technology , informatics and management concepts. The BI discipline was created in Germany, from the concept of "Wirtschaftsinformatik"...
, Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, and Psychopathology
Psychopathology
Psychopathology is the study of mental illness, mental distress, and abnormal/maladaptive behavior. The term is most commonly used within psychiatry where pathology refers to disease processes...
. During this time he also worked as an intern at a psychiatric clinic. After living for a time in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
he settled down in 1990 as a writer and freelance journalist in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
. He wrote articles for, among others, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung is a major German language Swiss daily newspaper based in Zurich.One of the oldest newspapers still published, it originally appeared as Zürcher Zeitung, edited by Salomon Gessner, from January 12, 1780, and was renamed to Neue Zürcher Zeitung in 1821...
, the Tages-Anzeiger
Tages-Anzeiger
Tages-Anzeiger, also abbreviated Tagi or TA, is a German language Swiss national daily newspaper based in Zurich. Among newspapers in Switzerland, it has one of the largest readerships, reaching around 550,000 readers. The Tages-Anzeiger was first published in 1893...
, Die Weltwoche
Die Weltwoche
Die Weltwoche is a Swiss weekly magazine based in Zürich. It is privately owned by Roger Köppel. The magazine's regular columnists of note include the former president of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland, Peter Bodenmann, as well as Christoph Mörgeli MP, a leading figure of the right...
, and the satirical newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
Nebelspalter
Nebelspalter
The Nebelspalter is a Swiss satirical magazine. It was founded in 1875 by Jean Nötzli of Zurich as "Illustrirtes humoristisch-politisches Wochenblatt" and continues to this day, since late 1996 as a monthly...
. Since 1997 he has belonged to the editorial staff of the quarterly literary magazine "Entwürfe für Literatur." He lives in Winterthur
Winterthur
Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. It has the country's sixth largest population with an estimate of more than 100,000 people. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, it is usually abbreviated to Winti...
.
Peter Stamm has written prose, radio drama, and plays. He is most known for his cool and sparse writing style. Since 2003 Mr. Stamm has been a member of the group "Autorinnen und Autoren der Schweiz" (Authors of Switzerland).
Prizes
Stamm has received a number of literature prizes.- 1998 the Ehrengabe des Kantons Zürich
- 1999 the Rauriser Literaturpreis,
- 2000 the Rheingau Literatur PreisRheingau Literatur PreisRheingau Literatur Preis is a literary prize of Hesse. It is awarded annually since 1994 by the Rheingau Literatur Festival which follows the Rheingau Musik Festival...
, - 2001 the Ehrengabe der Stadt Zürich,
- 2002 the Preis der Schweizerischen Schillerstiftung
- 2002 the Carl-Heinrich-Ernst-Kunstpreis.
Prose
- Alles über den Mann, 1995 (with Brigitte Fries)
- Gotthard, 1997 (with Markus Bühler)
- Agnes, 1998
- Blitzeis, 1999
- Ungefähre Landschaft, 2001
- In fremden Gärten, 2003
- Warum wir vor der Stadt wohnen, 2005 (with Jutta BauerJutta Bauer-Life:After studying at the Technical College of Design in Hamburg, she worked as a children’s book illustrator as well as cartoonist for the women’s magazine Brigitte....
) - An einem Tag wie diesem, 2006
- Sieben Jahre, 2009
- Seerücken, 2011
Plays
- Die Planung des Planes Monologue, Schauspielhaus ZürichSchauspielhaus ZürichThe Schauspielhaus Zürich is one of the most prominent and important theatres in the German-speaking world. It is also known as "Pfauenbühne" after its location on the Pfauen Square in Zürich, Switzerland. The large theatre has 750 seats...
- Fremd gehen, 1995
- Après Soleil oder Wen der Wind zur Insel trägt, 2002
- Der Kuss des Kohaku, 2004
- Die Töchter von Tauebnhain 2004
Radio dramas
- Ich und die anderen 1991
- Die Nacht der Gewohnheiten 1993
- In Vitro Zürich 1994
- Der letzte Autofahrer 1995
- Bildnis eines Knaben mit Peitsche 1995
Translations
- Susan MusgraveSusan MusgraveSusan Musgrave is a Canadian poet and children's writer. She was born in Santa Cruz, California to Canadian parents, and currently lives in British Columbia, dividing her time between Sidney and the Queen Charlotte Islands....
: Träum dir eine Badewanne (English: Dreams are More Real than Bathtubs), 2002
In translation
Several of Stamm's works have been translated into English by Michael HofmannMichael Hofmann
Michael Hofmann is a German-born poet who writes in English and a translator of texts from German.-Biography:...
. These include novels Agnes, Unformed Landscape and On a Day Like This, as well as In Strange Gardens and Other Stories, a collection of short stories.