For authors, it is essential that the process of writing does not stop. This is especially true for authors who flee from war and crisis zones and have to live in exile. For them, the writing process was often not only interrupted by the political situation in their home countries, but for quite a few, writing even became life-threatening. In their new environment, outside their own language area, they are dependent on translations to continue to resonate with readers. Being able to continue writing also means being able to continue being read; writing and being read belong together. Authors do not write for themselves, but rather from within themselves. “A writer is first and foremost a writer, regardless of which country they come from. A person’s background should never be a reason to prevent them from writing and publishing,” says Peter Stamm, one of the project’s authors.

Weiter Schreiben Schweiz focuses on the continuity of literary work precisely because forced migration is such a radical break. However, Weiter Schreiben Schweiz also has a spatial dimension in the sense of broadening or expanding perspectives. “World literature wants to see all the literature of the world, in all languages if possible. Literature is a worldwide conversation. A dialogue in different languages is a good experiment, including a linguistic one, and language itself is a core element of literature, probably more so than the topics themselves, which can easily be blurred,” says Zsuzsanna Gahse, also an author of the project.

The voices of people in exile are often missing from public debate; they are usually spoken about rather than with. By letting the authors speak for themselves, Weiter Schreiben Schweiz deepens the transcultural dialogue and challenges stereotypes and conventional readings.

The fifth national languages are presented at Weiter Schreiben Schweiz as part of the Swiss literary world. In the spirit of Hannah Arendt, we assume that belonging is created through joint action and speech and see our task in preparing a space for such joint action. We want to open spaces and create contexts in which authors are perceived and heard as authors and not as refugees. This is how they emerge as actors on the literary stage and can introduce themselves to a broad audience in their profession and expertise. Weiter Schreiben Schweiz is not an aid project, but an exchange program that works in both directions.

The tandem principle is central to its success. As part of Weiter Schreiben Schweiz, a writer in exile comes together with an author established in the Swiss literary scene to exchange ideas on artistic, political and personal matters. Since 2021, Swiss tandems have formed with authors from Egypt, Afghanistan, Kurdish Iraq, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, Iran and the Ukraine. We started in German-speaking Switzerland in 2021, followed by French-speaking Switzerland in 2022 and Italian-speaking Switzerland in 2023. We publish literary texts and workshop reports from the tandems and organize readings throughout the country.

Weiter Schreiben Schweiz has existed since 2020 and is implemented by artlink. The initiator and co-founder of the project is the writer Annika Reich. Weiter Schreiben Schweiz was modeled on the principles of the multiple award-winning project Weiter Schreiben Deutschland, which has been successfully enabling exiled authors to continue writing since 2017.