Max Frisch
| Max Frisch | |
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| Born | Max Rudolf Frisch May 15, 1911 Zurich, Switzerland |
| Died | April 4, 1991 (aged 79) Zurich, Switzerland |
| Occupation | Architect, novelist, playwright, philosopher |
| Language | German |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Spouse |
(married 1942, separated 1954, divorced 1959) Ingeborg Bachmann (partner 1958-1963) Marianne Oellers (married 1968, divorced 1979) |
Max Rudolf Frisch (May 15, 1911 – April 4, 1991) was a Swiss playwright and novelist. Frisch's works focused on problems of identity, individuality, responsibility, morality, and political commitment. His use of irony is a significant feature of his post-war publications. Frisch was one of the founders of Gruppe Olten. He was awarded the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1986.
Frisch was born in 1911 in Zürich, the second son of Franz Bruno Frisch, an architect, and Karolina Bettina Frisch (née Wildermuth). He had a half-sister, Emma (1899–1972), his father's daughter by a previous marriage, and a brother, Franz, eight years his senior (1903–1978). The family lived modestly, their financial situation deteriorating after the father lost his job during the First World War. Frisch had an emotionally distant relationship with his father, but was close to his mother. While at secondary school Frisch started to write drama, but failed to get his work performed and he subsequently destroyed his first literary works. While he was at school he met Werner Coninx (1911–1980), who later became a successful artist and collector. The two men formed a lifelong friendship.
In the 1930/31 academic year Frisch enrolled at the University of Zurich to study German literature and linguistics. There he met professors who gave him contact with the worlds of publishing and journalism. At this time, Frisch was influenced by Robert Faesi (1883–1972) and Theophil Spoerri (1890–1974), both writers and professors at the university. Frisch had hoped the university would provide him with the practical underpinnings for a career as a writer, but became convinced that university studies would not provide this. In 1932, when financial pressure on the family intensified, Frisch abandoned his studies.
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