Collection principles of the SLA
The Swiss Literary Archives (SLA) collect literary estates and archives in the four literatures of Switzerland from the 20th and 21st centuries in German, French, Italian and Romansh, with a particular focus on literature of the inter-war years and from 1968 to the present day.
The SLA collect the archives and literary estates of…
- authors from Switzerland
- scholars and literary critics
- cultural institutions such as publishers, associations of authors, societies and journals
- writers of exile literature and migrant writers in Switzerland
Collection criteria
The most important criteria are aesthetic quality, the literary canon, representation in literary histories and national and international reception in literary criticism.
Others include connections to the fonds of the SLA in general and establishing a counter-canon comprising archives of authors, lyricists, concrete poetry and chansonniers. Since the collection documents the development of the four Swiss literatures, particular care is taken to ensure each generation is properly represented.
- In focus
- Literary estates and archives from A–K
- Literary estates and archives from L–Z
- Individual documents in the SLA
- Audiovisual documents in the SLA
Swiss National Library
Hallwylstrasse 15
3003 Bern