Wednesday, March 3, 2010

A Life










Annemarie Schwarzenbach : A Life



Annemarie Schwarzenbach was born on May 23rd, 1908 in Zurich, into one of the richest families in Switzerland of that period. Her father, Alfred Schwarzenbach, was one of the great patrons of the textile industry. She grew up in the family house and studied History in Zurich and Paris. In 1931, she received her doctorate and wrote her first book. In 1930, she made friends with Erika and Klaus Mann, with whom she remained close for most of her life. Schwarzenbach lived as a writer in Berlin where she had her first experiences with morphine. From 1933, she began traveling, first with the photographer Marianne Breslauer, to the Pyrenees, then to the Near East. Her first six-month trip took her to Beirut, Jerusalem, Baghdad, Baki and Teheran where she met the French diplomat, Claude Clarac. In 1934, she accompanied Klaus Mann to the first Congress of Writers, in Moscow.

Schwarzenbach was often in conflict with her family. It was because of this turmoil that she made her first suicide attempt. Shortly thereafter, she left for Teheran to marry Claude Clarac. She obtained French nationality and a diplomatic passport. But, soon after, she fell into a depression, which was aggravated by her appetite for drugs. In addition, her love affair with the daughter of the Turkish Ambassador in Teheran, provoked a scandal.

Her meeting with American photographer, Barbara Hamilton-Wright marked a new period in Schwarzenbach's life. It was with Hamilton-Wright that she would make her first journey in the United States. During the summer of 1936, she left for New York. Hamilton-Wright had proposed that they take a trip to document the great industrial regions of northeastern United States.

She arrived in America in the middle of an economic and social crisis. It was the time of the Great Depression, of social upheaval, of great strikes and of President Roosevelt's attempts to aid these crises with his deep reforms of his New Deal. In January of 1937, Schwarzenbach left Washington with Hamilton-Wright to visit the Alleghenies and the industrial center of Pittsburgh.

"Thus began for her a year that was a part of the most momentous and the most important of her life - all under the plan of a journalistic journey. Everywhere she traveled, she took photographs which depicted misery in a striking manner. The snapshots that she brought back to Switzerland had an extraordinary quality, which are totally unrelated to the insignificant landscapes she executed at the beginning of her career." (1)

Two of her stories were published in Switzerland at the end of her first trip, confirming the interest in her work. After her return, and two months rest in Switzerland, she left again in May 1937, this time for eastern Europe: Danzig, Riga, Leningrad, Moscow. There also, her articles and photographs showed a careful and relevant observation of the social reality of a Europe dominated by the rise of fascism.

In September 1937, she returned to the United States. This time, Schwarzenbach and Hamilton-Wright left for the deep South, in order to bear witness to the supposed "hinterland of American prosperity". The two women crossed Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. The misery and violence that they witnessed surpassed anything that either of them had yet seen in their journeys. From social problems came the added racial conflicts. In the mountains of Tennessee, they encountered woodcutters who were starting to organize unions. Schwarzenbach took passionately to these issues, and published many politically engaged articles reporting on the suffering and upheaval in the southern United States.

She returned to Europe at the beginning of 1938, profoundly touched by her journey. But by the time she found herself on the boat back to Europe, she again was lured by drugs. What followed was a period where she alternated between writing and rehabilitation for her drug habit. In 1939, she met the writer Ella Maillart, who, after much hesitation, took Schwarzenbach with her by car to Afghanistan. This trip made a great impression on Ella Maillart, who tried in vain to cure Schwarzenbach of her drug problem. They left in June 1938, but by the time they reached Sofia, Schwarzenbach obtained morphine substitution, which created a great tension between the two women. They ended by separating in Kabul, Maillart left alone for India. A scandalous love affair with the woman archeologist Hackin had left Schwarzenbach forbidden to travel in the excavations of Turkmenistan, which rendered her journey impossible.

Many of the stories that Schwarzenbach brought from her voyage were published in Switzerland, including one written with Maillart. In May of 1940, Schwarzenbach returned once more to the United States. She became involved in an unhappy love affair which caused her to suffered from a depression which led her, in December, to another suicide attempt and an internment in a psychiatric clinic. In February of 1941, she was authorized to leave the clinic on the condition that she leave the United States. She returned to Switzerland via Lisbon. As soon as she arrived, however, she left again for the Belgian Congo, and undertook a voyage in the bush where she continued to write. In 1942, she left via Lisbon for Morocco where she found Claude Clarac. She stayed there for two months, then left for Switzerland with the hopes of working in Lisbon as a foreign correspondent. But on September 7th, she suffered a devastating fall on her bicycle, and she fell into a coma for three days; she awoke to amnesia.

The last weeks of her life, she was cared for in her house in Sils, she did not recognize anyone. Annemarie Schwarzenbach died on the 15th of November in Sils, and she was buried in Zurich.

-Barbara Lorey de Lacharrière, (trans. Gabrielle Giattino)

(1) Dominique Gente, Nicole Müller, L'ange inconsolable, Lieu Commun, 1989.

13 comments:

  1. Link exchange is nothing else however it is simply placing the other person's webpage link on your page at proper place and other person will also do same in favor of you.

    Feel free to surf to my weblog ... http://eogneogtiwonmdd.com
    Also see my web site - www.cooking games.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'll right away take hold of your rss feed as I can not find your e-mail subscription hyperlink or newsletter service. Do you've anу?
    Ρleasе реrmit me reсognize in order that
    I could subѕcribe. Thаnkѕ.

    Feel frеe tо ѕurf to my wеbsite: Replace Your Dangerous Cigarettes With Harmless V2 Cigs
    my webpage - www.sfgate.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ahaa, іtѕ fаstiԁiοus ԁialοgue about thіs article at thіѕ plaсe
    at this blog, I hаve rеad all that, so аt this time me also commentіng
    hеre.

    Rеviеω mу ωeb sitе .
    .. v2 cigs reviews
    My web site > V2 Cigs Review

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gгeat blog here! Also your ωebsіte loads up fast!
    What web hоst aгe yοu using? Can I get your affiliate link to youг host?
    I ωish mу web site loаdeԁ up as faѕt as yоurs lol

    Review my weblog :: http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/V2-Cigs-Review-Authentic-Smoking-Experience-or-4075176.php
    my page :: Fifthjon.Com

    ReplyDelete
  5. These modern fitness devices are worn about
    the waist, positioned ideal about the abs and then
    making use of what is known as electronic muscle stimulation.


    Feel free to surf to my weblog: Flex Belt Coupons

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hellо і am kavin, its my first occasiоn to commenting
    anywhеre, when i reаd thiѕ paragгaph i thought
    i cоuld also creаte comment due to thiѕ
    brilliаnt post.

    Feel free to ѵіѕіt my wеblog ::
    Sfgate.Com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey there, my name's Sima and sometimes I write about the same thing on my blog. I actually do have a couple of questions for you if you don't mind.
    Could it just be me or does it look as if many of the replies appear they are
    coming out of brain dead people? :-P And, if you're posting on other social sites like web 2.0 site list, I would like to keep up with you. Can you put up a list of all of your shared sites like your Twitter, Facebook page or linkedin profile?

    my web page :: 81190

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm a student studying at FAMU and genuinely appreciate what you have accumulated in this article, certainly like what you're saying and the form with which you affirm it.

    Your post was excellently balanced between entertaining and intelligent.
    I can't wait to pick up even more thanks to you. This is absolutely a great web site.

    My site; lento

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hello, I'm Melisa and I've just recently begun to get into what
    you're going over. I don't know where you’re getting your information,
    but solid job even so. I need to devote some more time learning and understanding more.
    Thanks for this: this is just what I was looking for for
    my search.

    Also visit my web blog; Ebusiness

    ReplyDelete
  10. It feels like I've come across this blog before on but upon checking at some of the articles I figured out that it's new to me.
    Still, I'm gonna bookmark this blog and begin coming here on a regular basis.

    Here is my blog - época

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hey there, my name's Ivy and I sometimes blog about this subject too. I actually do have a couple of questions for you if you don't mind.
    Is it just me or does it seem like many of the responses seem
    like they are coming from a bunch of idiots? :-P And, if you are writing on more
    social sites like web 2.0 site list, I would like to keep up with you.
    Is it possible you could put up a list of all of your shared sites like your Twitter, Facebook page or linkedin profile?


    My web-site: http://www.artikelmarketing.eu/Casino-Games-Opportunity-And-Good-Fortune-Have-Everything-Regarding-It.htm

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ӏ love Luci E cіgѕ

    Feel free to visit my ωeb site ... green smoke e cig

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nice blog..! I really loved reading through this article... Thanks for sharing such an amazing post with us and keep blogging.Best Indian Astrologer in Toronto | Indian Astrologer in Toronto

    ReplyDelete