Alice Rivaz

Swiss writer Alice Rivaz

The Swiss writer Alice Rivaz (1901-1998) brought a bold new tone to the literature of French-speaking Switzerland in the late thirties. She became known in other countries too as a pioneer of feminist literature in Switzerland. Together with Corinne Bille, Catherine Colomb and Monique Saint-Hélier, Rivaz was an important feminist and author.

Rivaz studied music

Alice Rivaz studied music and trained to be a pianist and music teacher. She settled in Geneva and worked for many years for the International Labor Organization (ILO), a job she later gave up in favor of writing.

Problems of women

In her many novels, she addressed the problems of women in the family and art work, with men and themselves. She liked to put herself in the place of her characters with their views, lifestyles and experiences. In 1986 she published a study on the French-speaking poet Jean-Georges Lossier.

Key works of Alice Rivaz

Alice Rivaz produced the following key works: "Nuages dans la main" (1940, Clouds in your hands), "Sans alcool" (1961, Without alcohol), "L'Alphabet du matin" (1969, The morning alphabet), "De mémoire et d'oubli" (1973, Of memory and oblivion), "Jette ton pain" (1979, Cast your bread) and "Traces de vie" (1983, Traces of life).

Stamps in detail

Date of issue: 13 March 2001.
Size: 33 x 28 mm.
Perforation: 13.25 x 13.5.
Printing: Offset and steel engraving by Swiss Post Stamp Printers, Berne.

More information

Stamps Switzerland
Postage Stamps 2001
The Aero-Club of Switzerland
UNHCR
Congratulations
Switzerland