Rudolf Jakob Humm

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Rudolf Jakob Humm (born January 13, 1895 in Modena , Italy ; † January 27, 1977 in Zurich ) was a Swiss writer and translator .

Life

The eldest of three sons of a Swiss businessman who emigrated from Kirchleerau grew up in Modena and graduated from the Aarau Cantonal School with a high school diploma . From 1915 he studied physics in Munich, Göttingen and Berlin, from 1918 economics in Zurich. In 1922 he settled in Zurich as a freelance journalist and translator without a degree. In 1923 he married the Scottish painter Lily Crawford (1896–1979); they had two children. His sister-in-law was the architect Flora Steiger-Crawford (1899–1991).

In 1929 he celebrated a successful debut as a writer with his novel Das Linsengericht - publicly praised by Hermann Hesse . From 1932 he became politically active, together with colleagues such as Jakob Bührer and Fritz Brupbacher , against fascism and war incitement, although after 1936 he distanced himself from communism. From 1933 to 1938 he took in a number of German emigrants in his Zurich “Rabenhaus” on Limmatquai , which he lived in from 1934. He also organizes literary evenings in his home. a. Klaus and Erika Mann , Ignazio Silone , Friedrich Glauser and Albin Zollinger are guests. During the war years he created a number of translations, especially for the Gutenberg Book Guild . In 1948, he founded his own literary magazine , My Opinion , which he continued from the second issue as Our Opinion until his death in 1977.

With his play The Peacock Must Go , he won first prize in the Zurich Drama Competition in 1950 on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of joining the Confederation ; it premiered in May 1951. In addition to narrative works, a few radio plays were also created during this time . His work was recognized by the city of Zurich in 1969 with the award of the literature prize.

Humm died in 1977 in the Zurich Cantonal Hospital as a result of a traffic accident . His estate is kept in the Zurich Central Library.

He found his final resting place in the Nordheim cemetery .

Works

prose

  • The lentil dish . Analyzes of a Sensitive . Novel. Urban, Freiburg im Breisgau 1928
  • The sick man from the exotic . Novella. WBK, Zurich 1933
  • The islands . Novel. Oprecht, Zurich 1936
  • Don Quixote and the dream of the golden age . Olten Book Friends Association (VOB 5), Olten 1939
  • Carolin. Two stories from his life . Novel. Gutenberg Book Guild, Zurich 1944
  • Letter about the novella . Bühl, Herrliberg 1945
  • Mica and flowers . Collected short stories. Bühl, Herrliberg 1945
  • The society novel . Origo, Zurich 1947
  • The gilded nut . Novella. Vineta, Basel 1951
  • Seven fairy tales by Elisa Barbanti . Gutenberg Book Guild (advertising gift), Zurich 1953
  • The griffin . A novel. Steinberg, Zurich 1953
  • Springinsfeld and Sauerkloss or Das Freudenfest . A fairy tale. Sauerländer, Aarau 1954
  • Little comedy. A cheerful Zurich novel . Ex libris, Zurich 1958
  • The Carnation or Rejoice in Life . Zurich novella. Fretz & Wasmuth, Zurich 1962
  • With us in the Rabenhaus. From literary Zurich in the 1930s . Fretz & Wasmuth, Zurich 1963; Huber, Frauenfeld 2002, ISBN 3-7193-1252-6
  • Play with Valdivia . Novel. Fretz & Wasmuth, Zurich 1964
  • Alex the crook . Documentary novel. Viktoria, Bern 1966
  • To think along. Reflections from two decades . Afterword by François Bondy . Candelabra, Bern 1969
  • 7 × 7 stories of Dr. Semper . Domo, Zurich 1969
  • The Cretan . Novel. Classen, Zurich 1973
  • The Imp . Novel. Classen, Zurich 1976
  • University or a year in the life of Daniel Seul . Novel. Classen, Zurich 1977
  • Lady Godiva. A circus novel . Classen, Zurich 1980

theatre

  • Theseus and the Minotaur . Puppet show. Gutenberg Book Guild (advertising gift), Zurich 1941
  • Tristan da Cunha . A play in three acts. Zurich 1950
  • The peacock has to go . Play in two acts. Zurich 1951
  • Mr. Lamy's shoes. Scenes from the Paris Commune . A play in nine pictures. Zurich 1953

Translations

literature

Web links
personal data
SURNAME Humm, Rudolf Jakob
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Huber, Jakob (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss writer and translator
DATE OF BIRTH January 13, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH Modena
DATE OF DEATH January 27, 1977
Place of death Zurich