Never trust the artist.
Trust the tale.
My creative work, research, inventions and teaching have received support from many different sources. I have compiled below the work resulting or benefitting from this support. It includes award-winning projects, festival invitations, professorships and guest professorship invitations. All of this has enabled me to break new ground and forge new paths. Other projects close to my heart will be presented in subsequent stories. - Heartfelt thanks to Annette Bridges, Moscow, Idaho.
I have tried in my way to be free.
1992
Summa cum laude for Word and Flesh
My doctoral thesis at the University of Zurich, where I completed my degree summa cum laude, was awarded the Society for Higher Education and Research's prize for linguistic quality. This period is peppered with personal experiences. I remember Max Wehrli, very elderly by that point, reading letters to me in his villa on the Zürichberg, surrounded by his precious Madonnas. These letters had been sent to me by the bedridden German medievalist Friedrich Ohly, an exceptional researcher who fought tirelessly against time to complete his life's work – and won: he finished editing the text on which I based my doctoral thesis, at least in its basic form. He wrote his letters with an astronaut ballpoint pen (that tool made its way into my novel What We Seem, when Hannah Arendt reflects on her first heart attack). Friedrich Ohly had also sent me his autobiographical account of his time as a prisoner of war, Glück eines Gefangenen mit Steinen und Puschkin (The Luck of a Prisoner with Stones and Pushkin). An academic career can be a destiny.
That same year, I was invited to be an Erasmus lecturer at the University of Konya in Turkey. This was my second appointment abroad, following my year at the German School in San Salvador (El Salvador, 1983–84). While in Turkey, I taught German language and literature, as well as offering a seminar on contemporary Swiss literature. With my very basic Turkish, I was able to get around the city and visit carpet dealers and Sufis. The dancing dervish pictured here is a farewell gift from the dean.
1996
Called to teach
Eventually the canton of Zurich announced open positions for tenured teachers at secondary schools. After submitting my application to four schools, three of them in the city of Zurich, I was offered multiple positions. I chose to teach at the Rämibühl Gymnasium MNG, which specializes in mathematics and natural sciences. Over the next five years, I taught German and Spanish, as well as Creative Writing and Theatre. I also supervised teaching internships and prepared students for an academic path. It was at this school that I got to know Linus Hunkeler. He was my student at the time and has been my friend, mentor and collaborator ever since.
2000
Formal Venia Legendi recognition after publication of My Secret Is Mine
Once I had completed my post-doctoral thesis and Habilitation process, the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zurich granted me the Venia Legendi, or authority to teach independently, in German literature. I published my book in English, which earned me considerable criticism for the language of publication.
I was then invited to the University of Amsterdam as an Erasmus lecturer. There, I taught theater theory, history, and performance practice of secular theater in the Middle Ages. I also staged Die Gemüsenarren (The Vegetable Fools) with the students. The play featured magnificent vegetables and gender-bending performances in the dean's hall.
I was appointed as an interim professor of Medieval Studies at the Institute of German Philology at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
The University of Zurich appointed me as an assistant professor of German literature from its inception to 1700. For six years, I taught, conducted research, and served on committees in both the German Seminar and the Faculty of Philosophy. I was invited to participate as a multimedia creator and spokesperson on international projects, including exhibitions, audio guides, museum installations, and DVDs. I also founded a theater group for students; we held performances in theaters, museums, and churches.
2003
Grant for multidisciplinary project on playwright and city surgeon Jakob Ruf
The Swiss National Science Foundation approved a project on Jakob Ruf's Theater and Healing Arts; our team consisted of ten researchers and assistants from five disciplines. Together we created a 3,500-page edition that was published in 2008, curated an exhibition at the Strauhof in 2006, and staged two book premieres with performances at the Stadthaus Zürich. The project received considerable media coverage and was supported by numerous foundations.
That same year, I was appointed to the management committee and the board of the Literaturhaus Zürich.
2005
Max Kade Distinguished Visiting Professorship
I was invited to Bloomington and spent late summer and early fall at the German department of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
2007
THE HOUR OF THE DOG
This 144-minute audio play, presented on CDs along with an illustrated book, has been nominated for the German Audio Book Prize and awarded the Theophrastus Foundation’s Mysticism Prize. I was screenwriter, medievalist, narrator and media producer on this project, making it my first completely solo multi-media work of art. The Hour of the Dog became the cornerstone to the Trilogy of the Timeless.
2008
Appointment as Full Professor
In 2008, I joined the German department at Indiana University in Bloomington, USA. During my ten years there, I served on the advisory boards of both the Center for Documentary Research and Practice and the Institute for European Studies. I was also a member of the planning team for a Mellon Grant project on Performing the Middle Ages. During my time at IU, I received the Indiana University Teaching Award, and I collaborated with students on various creative projects, including radio plays and performances at the art museum. In this same spirit of outreach, I co-curated the Medievalia event series at the Lilly Library, the Performative Books exhibition and, with support from Pro Helvetia, invited Swiss writers for readings on campus.
2009
Jurying on Austrian television
I was appointed as a juror for the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize in Klagenfurt, an annual literary competition that is broadcast live over four days. I served in this capacity until 2019 and enjoyed working with the Austrian TV studio staff in Carinthia and the 3sat staff in Mainz, and with colleagues from all around the German-speaking regions. It was a privilege to invite authors at a pivotal moment in their trajectories. Many of them returned home with awards, and in 2013, my candidate won the main award, the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize.
That same year, Pro Helvetia supported my research in Argentina. This trip marked the beginning of my storytelling about Argentinian writer Alfonsina Storni. A first product was a radio feature on Swiss Radio in 2010.
2012
Literary criticism on Swiss television
I was invited to appear as a literary critic on Swiss television's SRF program, Literature Club. I enjoyed recording programs with colleagues and staff at the Papiersaal in Zurich and continued with this work until 2019.
I was nominated for the Teaching Award at the University of Zurich.
2013
Visiting professorship in London
I received an invitation to the Department of German in the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film at Queen Mary University of London. I showed the rough cut of my first documentary film, Whatever Comes Next, which was selected for various festivals in the USA; the Austrian/European TV channel 3sat also produced a television version in 2017.
2014
Book tour in China
I was invited to go on a reading tour of China at the invitation of Pro Helvetia. Alongside other Swiss writers, I presented my latest works in Beijing focussing on my radio play Das Kamel und das Nadelöhr (The Camel and the Eye of the Needle), which is about the very popular Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi.
2016
Performance Grants
The world premiere of the bilingual multimedia performance Un Viaje con Alfonsina (A Journey with Alfonsina) took place at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in Bloomington, with composition and musical direction by Francisco Córtes Álvarez. The performance was made possible by several grants: a Conference Grant from the College Arts & Humanities Institute at Indiana University and a Performance Grant from the Vice President for International Affairs at Indiana University, as well as support from the Jacobs School of Music.
2016
Artist Residency in Berlin
I spent late summer and early fall in Berlin-Mitte, on Auguststrasse, thanks to the Landis & Gyr Foundation. During my residency, I started to work on a new project that eventually turned out to be my debut novel: Was wir scheinen (What We Seem).
2017
Visiting Professorship in Buenos Aires
I received an invitation to serve as a visiting professor at the Instituto de Artes Mauricio Kagel at the Universidad General San Martín (UNSAM) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The goal was to stage a production with students from several departments (acting, puppet theatre and folkloric music). This visiting professorship helped me to see myself working independently in the future.
Back in Zurich, I focused on my second documentary film, Brunngasse 8, funded by a number of institutions. In this context, I developed a teaching project that gave students the opportunity to participate in film production and learn multimedia storytelling, which I launched at the University of Zurich. In 2018, the Federal Office of Culture included the platform zurichstories.org in its e-Helvetica digital archive.
2021
The Novel
The novel Was wir scheinen (What We Seem) was the key title of the spring 2021 program of the Eichborn publishing house. It was released in the middle of lockdown as a hardcover, e-book and audiobook; a paperback edition followed in 2022. The novel was featured on radio and television, translated into Italian and Croatian in 2023, and invited to festivals in Venice, Milan, and Zagreb.
2022
Film premiere
The film Brunngasse 8 premiered in Zurich. The film was supported by the canton of Zurich and numerous other sponsors. It enjoyed a long run in cinemas and was also shown on the Sternstunde Religion program on Swiss Television (SRF).
Storytelling
My pitch for the second radio feature Was wir sind und scheinen (What We Are and What We Seem) was successful. We produced it again with Simon Meyer at Radio Studio Basel. I brought along the songs that we had created for the book launch – poems by Hannah Arendt set to music.
Criminal Zurich
In the same year, Zurich Tourism praised our city tour, Criminal Zurich, as the most successful tour for group events.
2023
Works by Alfonsina Storni in German
Ultrafantasía, the last volume, came out. Thanks to research funded by Pro Helvetia and other foundations, I was able to translate and publish the first five-volume German edition of Alfonsina Storni's works (2020–2023). Radio stations, theaters and publishers inquired about rights, and I finally had a solid source for citations in my biography of Storni.
2024
Award-winning biography
My two-volume biography of Alfonsina Storni's life and legacy was published in October 2024. It was featured on the main news show (Tagesschau) on Swiss TV (SRF) and on European TV (3sat) and received a Gold Award from the International Creative Media Awards (ICMA) in January 2026.
The double cover that connects the two volumes is very innovative. Very valuable and elegant book design, very well-chosen images to match the text.
2025
Original Edition of Hannah Arendt's fairy-tale
The picture book Die weisen Tiere (The Wise Animals) is Hannah Arendt's only fairy tale. To mark the 50th anniversary of her death, I published the original edition, which I illustrated; I also wrote an afterword on its discovery. The book was featured on Deutschlandradio Kultur and named Bavaria's read-aloud book of the month in May. A licensed edition came out as well.
2026
Artist residency in London
I have been granted a residency by the Landis & Gyr Foundation to pursue a new project. I will be in London from February through April.
Tirana
I have been invited to a Poetics Residency and book tour in Albania.
2027
Keynote Lecture in Tampere
I have been invited to give the keynote lecture on creative teaching at the Nordic-Baltic German Studies Conference in Finland.
Built with Shorthand