Hermann Burger
Hermann Burger (
July 10,
1942 –
February 28,
1989), was a
Swiss poet,
novelist and
essayist. In his creative works Burger often focused on society's lonely outsiders and, increasingly, the inevitability of death. His virtuosity in applying literary styles and use of thorough
research are significant features of many of his publications.
Hermann Burger was born in
1942 in
Burg, Canton of
Aargau; his father worked for an insurance company. He enrolled at the
ETH Zurich in
1962 and began studying architecture, but switched to German literature and art history in
1964. The publication of the poetry collection "
Rauchsignale" ("Smoke Signals") in
1967 marked the beginning of his literary career, followed by the prose collection "
Bork" in
1970. For the next couple of years Burger focused on his career in literary studies, writing his
thesis on
Paul Celan and his
habilitation treatise on contemporary
Swiss literature. He taught at universities in
Zurich,
Bern and
Fribourg and worked as a literary editor for the
Aargauer Tagblatt. His academic experience is reflected in the loosely autobiographical novel "
Die künstliche Mutter" ("The Artificial Mother") which won him the
Conrad-Ferdinand-Meyer-Preis in
1980.
Burger's first major novel "
Schilten. Schulbericht zuhanden der Inspektorenkonferenz" ("Schilten. School Report for the Attention of the Inspectors' Conference") was published in
1976 and made into a movie by Swiss film director
Beat Kuert in
1979. He won the
Ingeborg Bachmann Prize in
1985 for his story "
Die Wasserfallfinsternis von Badgastein" ("The Waterfall-Eclipse of Badgastein"). Burger's depressive and desperate moods grew with his literary acclaim, leading him to write the "
Tractatus logico-suicidalis" (
1988), a collection of
aphorisms advocating
suicide. On
February 28,
1989 he committed suicide in
Brunegg by taking an overdose of sleeping pills.
Rauchsignale (1967) poems
Bork (1970) prose pieces
Schilten. Schulberichtzuhanden der Inspektorenkonferenz (1976) monologue
Diabelli (1979) stories
Kirchberger idyllen (1980) poems
Die Künstliche Mutter (1982) novel
Ein Mann aus Wörtern (1983)
Die allmähliche Verfertigung der Idee beim Schreiben (1986)
Blankenburg (1986) stories
Als Autor auf der Stör (1987)
Der Schuss auf die Kanzel. Eine Erzählung (1988)
Tractatus logico-suicidalis. Über die Selbsttötung (1988)
Brenner (volume 1 published in 1989; volume 2 published posthumously in 1992)
* http://www.cpw-online.de/lemmata/burger_hermann.htm
* http://hermann_burger.know-library.net/
* http://www.svbbpt.ch/Literatur/deutsch/treschT12.htm
{{Persondata
NAME=Burger, Hermann | ALTERNATIVE NAMES= | SHORT DESCRIPTION=Swiss writer | DATE OF BIRTH=July 10, 1942 | PLACE OF BIRTH= | DATE OF DEATH=February 28, 1989 | PLACE OF DEATH=
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