SHORT TAKES : Writer Duerrenmatt Dies at 69

NEUCHATEL, Switzerland — Prolific Swiss writer Friedrich Duerrenmatt, ever-rebellious author of countless plays, novels and essays, died of a heart attack early today, his publishers announced. He was 69.

Duerrenmatt’s collected works, running to 40 volumes, include his first big success “Romulus the Great” and his later “The Visit,” “The Physicists,” “Christmas,” “The Fellow Traveller,” “Play Strindberg,” and “The Rebel.”