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Max Frisch
(1911-1991)

Active: 1934-1989 in Switzerland, Germany, Continental Europe; USA, North America

(Max Rudolf Frisch)

By Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah)

Indexing Data:

  • Active In: Switzerland, Germany, Continental Europe; USA, North America
  • Born In: Switzerland, Continental Europe
  • Activity: Playwright, Novelist, Essayist, Diarist

Life, Works and Times

Reader Actions

During the twentieth century, German-speaking Switzerland produced numerous writers who became famous far beyond her borders. Among those Max Frisch, prolific novelist, playwright and diarist, ranks high in international acclaim. His texts have been translated into many languages, and his plays remain in the repertoire of theaters around the globe to this day. Frisch’s œuvre has long become part of the modernist “canon” for students of literature on all continents. There is a vast number of critical studies on this œuvre, and the scholarly debate is ongoing. Yet it is difficult to find facile explanations for the staggering success of Frisch’s texts with an incredibly diverse readership. Frisch was neither a

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First published 19 November 2003

Citation: Knapp, Gerhard P.. "Max Frisch". The Literary Encyclopedia. 19 November 2003.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1641, accessed 20 November 2009.]