Schwarz-Borchmeyer-Pohl faction

The Schwarz-Borchmeyer-Pohl faction is a group of Archimboldi scholars whose rivalry with Jean-Claude Pelletier, Piero Morini, and Manuel Espinoza turns literary interpretation into an organized contest for influence. The faction’s eventual reconciliation with its rivals does not end the competition; it redirects it toward promoting Archimboldi, whose growing public reputation contrasts with how little is known about him.

Formation and Scholarly Rivalry

The two camps are identified in connection with Number 46 of the Berlin journal Literary Studies, a monograph devoted to Archimboldi. The issue marks the formation of the Schwarz-Borchmeyer-Pohl faction and its opposing group, Pelletier, Morini, and Espinoza. Liz Norton’s contribution aligns with the three friends’ theses, cites their work, and demonstrates detailed familiarity with their studies. Her essay thus enters an already divided critical field while establishing her intellectual affinity with the rival camp.

At a German literature conference in Bremen, Pelletier, backed by Morini and Espinoza, attacks the German scholars’ position. The audience and some young German professors gravitate toward Pelletier’s forceful interpretations, and the faction’s scholars retreat to Bremen’s cafés and taverns. Two days later, Schwarz, Borchmeyer, and Pohl counterattack by comparing Archimboldi to Heinrich Böll and Günter Grass, invoking suffering and civic duty, and, through Borchmeyer, Friedrich Dürrenmatt and humor. Morini regards the last comparison as galling. Norton then joins the dispute and dismantles the counterargument, speaking rapidly in excellent German and drawing on a range of writers, including Grimmelshausen, Gryphius, and Paracelsus.

Reconciliation in Salzburg

The factions meet again at a contemporary German literature symposium in Salzburg in 1996. News that Archimboldi is a candidate for the Nobel Prize excites Pelletier and Espinoza, who visit one another’s rooms to discuss it; neither visits Norton. At the Red Bull beer hall, the Nobel candidacy becomes the occasion for a declared peace between the two camps. Schwarz, Borchmeyer, and Pohl agree to respect their differences in method and interpretation and to pool their efforts with Pelletier and Espinoza.

The agreement has a concrete institutional consequence: Pelletier will no longer veto Schwarz’s essays in journals where Pelletier has influence, and Schwarz will no longer veto Pelletier’s studies in journals where Schwarz is highly regarded. Their reconciliation is therefore not merely personal or ceremonial. It ends reciprocal obstruction in the venues that had helped sustain their rivalry.

Advocacy and Archimboldi’s Public Profile

Morini is less exhilarated than his colleagues and notes that Archimboldi has not, as far as he knows, received a significant German prize—not a booksellers’, critics’, readers’, or publishers’ award. The Nobel candidacy brings no corresponding national or honorary recognition, nor even a television interview. The scholars, now united, respond to this neglect by intensifying their efforts rather than giving up.

The renewed advocacy produces an avalanche of literary and biographical studies. Because so little is known about Archimboldi, the unknown parts of his life become a subject in their own right, drawing readers who may be more captivated by his singular figure—or apparent absence—than by his writing. Word of mouth increases his German sales, while Dieter Hellfeld’s addition to the Schwarz-Borchmeyer-Pohl group is associated with a further boost. Translations and reissues gain impetus, and Archimboldi briefly reaches ninth place on the bestseller list in Italy and twelfth in France. The faction’s work thus helps turn scholarly contention into wider attention, without making Archimboldi a bestseller.

The Missing Author and the Limits of Knowledge

When Archimboldi is again discussed as a possible Nobel candidate, the scholars keep their information to themselves, reasoning that discretion is preferable to raising false hopes. They hear that someone connected with the Swedish Academy has contacted his publisher to ask how he might respond to the prize. Their discussion reveals how difficult it is to imagine public recognition for a writer past eighty who has no known family, heirs, or public presence. Mrs. Bubis predicts that he would be delighted, though Pelletier suspects she may be thinking of sales; Schwarz says Archimboldi is on the shortlist.

The possibility of bringing Archimboldi to the ceremony gives the critics a vivid prospect, but his presence in Mexico remains inexplicable to them. They consider tourism, research for a novel, and senile dementia, then set aside these explanations and return to El Cerdo’s account. Their speculation that Archimboldi may be fleeing is left unresolved. The faction’s collective advocacy can enlarge the author’s readership, but it cannot close the gap between his public reputation and the life that remains hidden from his readers.