On the Passing of Peter Bichsel
News25.03.2025
»His works are among the classics of postwar German-language literature.«
Matthias Kußmann, DLF Kultur
Matthias Kußmann, DLF Kultur
It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of Suhrkamp author Peter Bichsel, who passed away in Solothurn on 15 March 2025 at the age of 89.
Bichsel was born in Lucerne on 24 March 1935 and moved to Olten in 1941, where he grew up as the son of a craftsman. He trained as a primary school teacher before publishing his first literary works. He made his breakthrough in 1964 with And Really Frau Blum Would Very Much Like to Meet the Milkman. He was subsequently invited to join the famous Group 47, and received the prize awarded by the group in 1965.
Bichsel published essays, newspaper columns, and numerous collections of short stories and other works with Suhrkamp Verlag.
A new, expanded edition of his successful short story collection And Really Frau Blum Would Very Much Like to Meet the Milkman was published in February 2025.
Bichsel was born in Lucerne on 24 March 1935 and moved to Olten in 1941, where he grew up as the son of a craftsman. He trained as a primary school teacher before publishing his first literary works. He made his breakthrough in 1964 with And Really Frau Blum Would Very Much Like to Meet the Milkman. He was subsequently invited to join the famous Group 47, and received the prize awarded by the group in 1965.
Bichsel published essays, newspaper columns, and numerous collections of short stories and other works with Suhrkamp Verlag.
A new, expanded edition of his successful short story collection And Really Frau Blum Would Very Much Like to Meet the Milkman was published in February 2025.
Critics on the Passing of Peter Bichsel
»A man of an almost child-like love of storytelling.«
»His trademark was the world-moving potential of captivating short prose.«
Stefan Kister, Stuttgarter Zeitung
»He was considered one of the most important voices in Swiss literature and enjoyed an international profile. He was celebrated as a master of storytelling for many decades.«
Deutschlandfunk Kultur
»In Peter Bichsel, German-language literature has lost one of its great minimalists.«
Katrin Hillgruber, Tagesspiegel
»His trademark was the world-moving potential of captivating short prose.«
Stefan Kister, Stuttgarter Zeitung
»He was considered one of the most important voices in Swiss literature and enjoyed an international profile. He was celebrated as a master of storytelling for many decades.«
Deutschlandfunk Kultur
»In Peter Bichsel, German-language literature has lost one of its great minimalists.«
Katrin Hillgruber, Tagesspiegel