Charles Ferdinand Ramuz (24 September 1878 – 23 May 1947) was a French-speaking Swiss writer.

Biography

He was born in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud and was educated at the University of Lausanne. He taught briefly in nearby Aubonne, and then in Weimar, Germany. In 1903, he left for Paris and remained there until World War I, with frequent trips home to Switzerland. As part of his studies in Paris he wrote a thesis on the poet Maurice de Guérin. In 1903, he published Le petit village, a collection of poems. In 1914, he returned to Switzerland. He wrote the libretto for Igor Stravinsky's Histoire du soldat. He died in Pully, near Lausanne in 1947. His likeness and an artistic impression of his works appear on the 200 Swiss franc note (no longer in current use). The Foundation C.F. Ramuz in Pully awards the Grand Prix C. F. Ramuz.

Works

Film adaptations

Ramuz's 1922 novel La séparation des races was adapted into the 1933 film Rapt by director Dimitri Kirsanoff. The film, shot on location in Switzerland, starred Geymond Vital. The Swiss writer S. Corinna Bille was a script editor on the film, after which she moved to Paris with Vital and married him. The movie is best known for the musical score by Arthur Honegger. In 1998, Swiss director Francis Reusser adapted Ramuz's 1915 novel La Guerre dans le Haut Pays into a film titled War in the Highlands, starring French actress Marion Cotillard.

Personal Life

Ramuz married Cecile Cellier, a Swiss Painter, in 1913 after she became pregnant with their only child, Marianne. He had one grandson, Guido Olivieri b.1940.

Legacy

His life and literary work are presented in a museum in his former home, La Muette, in Pully, Switzerland.

Awards

Notes and references