Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Swiss author and dramatist (1921–1990)

Source-basedFalling

Lived 1921–1990, aged 69Switzerland

Switzerland WritersWriter / Author

Fame23.1
Momentum0.0
Switzerland rank#17
Writers rank#161
Wikipedia20.4K

Wikipedia
65 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in Switzerland
#17
Writers
Era
1921–1990
Aged 69

Summary

Updated 2026-05-29

Swiss playwright who turned WWII trauma into darkly comic avant-garde dramas and philosophical crime novels. Dürrenmatt's work—think macabre satire meets epic theatre—caught the attention of Europe's political left, especially through Gruppe Olten, his circle of Swiss writers.

Biography

About

Friedrich Dürrenmatt was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-garde dramas, philosophical crime novels, and macabre satire. Dürrenmatt was a member of the Gruppe Olten, a group of left-wing Swiss writers who convened regularly at a restaurant in the city of Olten.

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