Urs Widmer
(born 21 May 1938 in Basel, Switzerland; died 2 April 2014 in Zurich, Switzerland); writer, translator
After obtaining his degree in German, Romance Languages and History from Basel, Montpellier and Paris, Urs Widmer worked as an editor at a publishing house. In addition to freelancing as a writer, Widmer also wrote reviews and taught modern German literature in Frankfurt. His first book to be published was Alois (1968). A second narrative was followed by the adventure story, Die Forschungsreise (The Research Journey, 1974). Widmer also wrote essays, as well as plays for the radio and the stage, the best known being the play Top Dogs (1997). For his wide range of work, Widmer received several awards, including the Mülheim Dramatist Award, one of Germany’s leading theatre awards, and the Swiss Literary Award for his autobiography, Reise an den Rand des Universums (Journey to the Edge of the Universe).