Peter Bichsel

Who is Peter Bichsel?

Peter Bichsel is a popular Swiss-German writer and journalist representing modern German literature. He was a member of the Gruppe Olten.

Bichsel was born 1935 in Lucerne, Switzerland, the son of manual labourers. Shortly after he was born, the Bichsels moved to Olten, also in Switzerland. After finishing school, he became an elementary school teacher, a job which he held until 1968. From 1974 to 1981 he was the personal advisor of Willy Ritschard, a member of the Swiss Federal Council. Between 1972 and 1989 he made his mark as a "writer in residence" and a guest lecturer at American universities. Bichsel has lived on the outskirts of Solothurn for several decades.

He started publishing short lyric works in newspapers. In 1960, he got his first success in prose as a private printer. In the winter of 1963-1964 he took part in writing course in prose taught by Walter Höllerer.

One of his first and most well-known works is And Really Frau Blum Would Very Much Like to Meet the Milkman. Just as successful, Children's Stories, intended for adults, is written in the form of droll tales for children. Both books were translated from the German by English poet Michael Hamburger.