Rut Plouda

Sco scha nüglia nu füss

«Tü sezzast sül ur dal tet e’t tirast aint ils stinvs. Ün di, dist, vegna davent. Eu vegn cun üna barcha oura sül mar e nu tuorn mai plü». (<i>Du sitzt auf dem Dachrand und ziehst deine Socken an. Eines Tages, sagst du, gehe ich fort. In einem Boot ziehe ich aufs Meer hinaus und komme nie wieder.</i>)

In ‘Wie wenn nichts wäre’ the Lower Engadine author Rut Plouda tells the story of the short-lived Joannes, she wrote this dialogue between narrator and child in Vallader (Rhaeto-Romance). Through memories, dreams, sounds as well as through a state adrift between reality and imagination the I creates the world of the you. All experiences are expressed in surprising images: On the day of his funeral Joannes is sitting cross-legged on the top of the roof, looking over the gathering of people, laughing.
In a clear and lean language this work of prose deals with life and death, interlacing narration and memory. Like, for instance, in the nine fragments that are woven into the narration, carrying titles such as The Sailor, The Hunter, or Robinson. Here the narrator describes Joannes’ wishful thinking and thereby gives him a voice.
‘Wie wenn nichts wäre’ is many things: expression of a deep love and intimacy between mother and son, an unforgettable adventure, expression of respect on the part of the author for a extraordinary human being – for the magical world of Joannes. Rut Plouda herself had a son with down syndrome.
This book has been translated into French, Romanian and German. In 2001 it received the Swiss Schiller Foundation Prize.

(Bettina Vital, transl.by Anja Hälg)

Translation of title: As If Nothing Happened

Ediziun Octopus, Cuira / Chur 2000

ISBN: 3-279-00537-X