In five books “Das Stoffe-Projekt” by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
The great Swiss writer’s masterpiece goes online and on paper to mark the centenary, along with 30,000 pages of manuscripts from a twenty-year period…
To mark the centenary of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s birth on January 5, the Swiss Literary Archives of the National Library are publishing with Diogenes Verlag an attractively designed and richly illustrated facsimile edition of his autobiographical project “Das Stoffe-Projekt”.
The publication of the five volumes will be accompanied by a freely accessible online presentation of all 30,000 digitized manuscript pages on which the author worked continuously for at least twenty years.
Numerous unpublished texts will thus be revealed to the public for the first time, allowing readers to analyze his work from a new and comprehensive perspective.
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After the heart attack he suffered in 1969 at the age of 48, Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921-1990) worked continuously on his long-term project “Stoffe: zur Geschichte meiner Schriftstellerei”, in which he combined the autobiographical description of his career with philosophical stories and reflections on God and the world.
The volumes he published “Labyrinth: Stoffe I-III and Turmbau: Stoffe IV-IX” represent only the tip of the iceberg of an overflowing and endless writing process.
The Swiss Literary Archives of the Swiss National Library (NL) have made available 30,000 manuscripts from his legacy that have been correlated with this work and analyzed in collaboration with the University of Bern. In addition to being partly published in a printed version, they are now freely accessible in an online presentation created for the centenary.
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The Diogenes Verlag edition: a work for true bibliophiles
The editors Ulrich Weber and Rudolf Probst present the entirety of the author’s oeuvre by selecting texts from his manuscripts and offering them in an edition published by “Diogenes Verlag” with a preface by Daniel Kehlmann.
The five volumes, characterized by attractive graphics, are richly illustrated with facsimiles.
Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s more than four decades of writing are presented in an annotated critical edition, and numerous previously unpublished texts are made accessible to the public for the first time, allowing them to analyze his work from a new perspective.
The collection also includes some of the author’s first unfinished works, such as the drama “Der Turmbau zu Babel”.
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An archive founded in 1991 by the will of a “giant
The Swiss Literary Archives (SLA), founded in 1991 by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, are part of the NL and preserve numerous literary legacies and archives as well as libraries of authors of the 20th and 21st centuries.
The Swiss National Library (NL) collects Helvetica, i.e. texts, images and sound documents relating to Switzerland, thus preserving the country’s collective memory.
In cooperation with other institutions, it also provides the general public with access to Switzerland’s cultural heritage.
Thanks to its central role as an institution of memory, it builds a bridge between the past and the future, passing through the present. In this way, it reflects the cultural and linguistic diversity of the Confederation and promotes sharing and innovation.
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The online presentation: the archive of the original texts is usable
The edition was simultaneously presented online in hypertext form. In addition, the entire archive of 30,000 pages of manuscripts and typescripts of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s “Stoffe” is available on the digital platform www.fd-stoffe-online.ch, which will be active as of May 26, 2021.
A number of editorial tools will help you find your way through this jungle of manuscripts.
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Book varnish: Marthe Keller reads the story about the oracle
The book varnishing was held online on May 26, 2021 at 6:15 p.m. on www.nb.admin.ch/stoffevernissage for the duration of about 75 minutes. Federal Councillor Alain Berset spoke about the modernity and topicality of the thought of the great Swiss writer.
The award-winning actress Marthe Keller read (in German) an excerpt from “Das Sterben der Pythia” (“The Death of Pythia”), the text about the oracle as archive, while the publisher Philipp Keel recalled Friedrich Dürrenmatt and his importance for the publishing house Diogenes Verlag.
The event was introduced by Marie-Christine Doffey, director of the NL, who welcomed the audience, and moderated by Irmgard Wirtz, head of the Swiss Literary Archives.
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The projection: discovering the texts and thinking of “FD”
From July 15 to August 6, 2021 at the NL (Hallwylstrasse 15, Bern, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., free admission), it will also be possible to get an overview of “Das Stoffe-Projekt” through a triple projection, which will show selected passages of the author’s editorial and revision work on his own texts.
The presentation gives the audience an insight into the textual genesis of “Das Stoffe-Projekt”, allowing them to experience Dürrenmatt’s writing work and transporting them into the ever-changing world of “Stoffe”.
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“Das Stoffe-Projekt”
Friedrich Dürrenmatt: “Das Stoffe-Projekt”. Five-volume textual genesis edition in a slipcase with expanded online version (www.fd-stoffe-online.ch – available May 26, 2021). Publication edited by Ulrich Weber and Rudolf Probst based on the author’s bequest. Preface by Daniel Kehlmann. Diogenes Verlag, Zürich, 2021, 2208 pages, ISBN 978-3-257-07101-6, 480 francs.
Volume 1: Zur Geschichte meiner Schriftstellerei. Manuskripte 1957-1981
Volume 2: Labyrinth. Stoffe I-III. (1981/1990) Mit einem Anhang
Volume 3: Dramaturgie der Phantasie. Manuskripte 1981-1990
Volume 4: Turmbau: Stoffe IV-IX. (1990) Mit einem Anhang
Volume 5: Die Werkstatt des Gedankenschlossers: Chronik, Entstehungsgeschichte, Dokumentation, Anmerkungen, Register
