Hugo Loetscher (22 December 1929 – 18 August 2009[1]) was a Swiss writer and essayist.
Life
Loetscher was born and raised in Zürich. He studied philosophy, sociology, and literature at the University of Zürich and the Sorbonne. At Zürich in 1956 he obtained a doctorate with a work called Die politische Philosophie in Frankreich nach 1945 ("Political Philosophy in France after 1945").
Afterwards, he was literature reviewer for the newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung and the magazine Weltwoche. From 1958 to 1962 he was a member of the editorial department of the monthly cultural magazine Du and founded the literary supplement Das Wort.[2] From 1964 until 1969 he was feuilleton editor and member of the editorial board of the Weltwoche. He next became a freelance writer.
Hugo Loetscher's works were often based on his traveling experiences; he has been called "the most cosmopolitan Swiss writer".[2] His experiences are reflected in reports including Zehn Jahre Fidel Castro (1969) and narrative works such as Wunderwelt a Brazilian Fairy Tale, and Eine brasilianische Begegnung (1979). Loetscher's most famous works are Der Immune (1975) and Die Papiere des Immunen (1986), in which he experimented with several literary genres. This variety of genres also reflects itself in other works: fables in Die Fliege und die Suppe (1989), short stories in Der Buckel (2002), columns in Der Waschküchenschlüssel und andere Helvetica (1983), poetry in Es war einmal die Welt (2004). In 2003, he published Lesen statt klettern, a collection of essays on Swiss literature, in which he questioned the traditional image of Switzerland as an Alpine nation. His literary estate is archived in the Swiss Literary Archives in Bern.
Loetscher also had strong interest in visual arts, particularly painting and photography. Besides he made a documentary on politics in Portugal in 1965.[2] He was a close friend of the Swiss painter Varlin (Willy Guggenheim). Varlin painted Loetscher and in 1969, Loetscher edited the first book about Varlin's life and work. As President of the Foundation of Swiss Photography, Loetscher was co-editor of the first history of Swiss photography Photographie in Der Schweiz Von 1840 Bis Heute (1974).
Loetscher was a good friend of the Swiss playwright Friedrich Dürrenmatt. After Dürrenmatt's death, legal action was taken against Loetscher by Dürrenmatt's widow Charlotte Kerr, which was to be later dismissed. The lawsuit's reason: Loetscher wrote a report about Dürrenmatt's abdication in Lesen statt klettern, which Kerr claimed violated her "personal rights". She also criticized details like the folded hands of the laid out corpse or a Stephen King book on Dürrenmatt's bedside table. The description of the funeral had hurt her dignity. She stated that Loetscher was mistaken; Dürrenmatt had been atheist, he would not have folded his hands. Loetscher explained that there had been a drawing that showed Dürrenmatt with hands folded. Kerr supposedly had asked for it and burnt it. He emphasized that he had been a friend of Dürrenmatt for many years. The judges dismissed the case, exonerating Loetscher.
Romey Sabalius: Die Romane Hugo Loetschers im Spannungsfeld von Fremde und Vertrautheit, New York u. a.: Lang 1995. (= Studies in modern German literature; 72) ISBN0-8204-2670-9
Jeroen Dewulf: Hugo Loetscher und die «portugiesischsprachige Welt», Bern u. a.: Lang 1999. (= Europäische Hochschulschriften; Reihe 1, Deutsche Sprache und Literatur; 1734) ISBN3-906763-78-1
Jeroen Dewulf: In alle Richtungen gehen. Reden und Aufsätze über Hugo Loetscher, Zürich: Diogenes 2005. ISBN3-257-06466-7
Jeroen Dewulf: Brasilien mit Brüchen. Schweizer unter dem Kreuz des Südens, Zürich: NZZ Verlag 2007. ISBN978-3-03823-349-7