Helen Meier (17 April 1929 – 13 February 2021) was a Swiss writer and teacher. She wrote eight collections of short stories and three novels, and was awarded a number of prizes, including the

Rauris Literature Prize The Rauris Literature Prize () is an annual Austrian literary award since 1972 by the Salzburg state government. The prize money is €10,000. It is awarded "for the best prose first publication by a German-speaking author from the previous year". ...

, the Schweizerische Schillerstiftung prize twice, the Droste-Preis, and Culture Prizes from the Kantons of St. Gallen and

Appenzell Ausserrhoden Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden ( ; ; ; ), in English sometimes Appenzell Outer Rhodes, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of twenty municipalities. The seat of the gove ...

Biography

Meier was born in

Mels Mels is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Sarganserland in the Seeztal, canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. History Mels is first mentioned in 765 as ''Maile'' though this comes from a later copy of the original document. ...

in 1929. Meier attended a in Rorschach and subsequently became a primary schoolteacher. After working in England, France, and Italy, she attended the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (; ) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg ...

, studying languages and education. She subsequently worked for the

Swiss Red Cross The Swiss Red Cross ( German: ', French: ', Italian: ', Romansh: '), or SRC (''SRK'' in German, ''CRS'' in French and Italian), is the national Red Cross society for Switzerland. The SRC was founded in 1866 in Bern, Switzerland. In accord ...

and as a special education teacher in Heiden. She began writing at the age of 55 in 1984, when she submitted a short story, ''Lichtempfindlich'', for the Ingrid Bachmann Competition at the

Festival of German-Language Literature The Festival of German-Language Literature () is a literary event which takes place annually in Klagenfurt, Austria. During this major literary festival which lasts for several days a number of awards are given, the major one being the Ingeborg B ...

. The story won the Ernst-Willner Prize and became part of her first published collection, ''Trockenwiese.'' Meier went on to publish regularly, and wrote eight collections of short stories and three novels. She was awarded a number of prizes, including the

, the Schweizerische Schillerstiftung twice, the Droste-Preis, and Culture Prizes from the Kantons of St. Gallen and

. Meier's last publication was a set of fairytales she had written as a young woman, ''The White Bird, the Hat, and the Princess'', which was published in 2019. Helen Meier died in a rest home in Trogen on her birthday, 13 February 2021, at the age of 91, after suffering from dementia.

Awards

* (1984) *

(1985) *Prize of the (1985) *Prize of the Schweizerische Schillerstiftung (2000) *Contribution to

Pro Helvetia The foundation Pro Helvetia is a public foundation of Switzerland, which supports artists, promotes Swiss culture and art abroad. It is responsible for major international cultural event exhibitions. The foundation promotes cultural dialogue of t ...

(2000) * Droste-Preis (2000) *Kulturpreis des Kantons St. Gallen (2001) *Kulturpreis des Kantons Appenzell Ausserrhoden (2017)

Works

*''Trockenwiese'' (1984) *''Das einzige Objekt in Farbe'' (1985) *''Das Haus am See'' (1987) *''Das Gelächter'' (1989) *''Lebenleben'' (1989) *''Der Thurgau und seine Menschen'' (1990) *''Die Suche nach dem Paradies. 36 Photographien aus dem Appenzellerland'' (1991) *''Nachtbuch'' (1992) *''Die Thur. Von der Quelle bis zur Mündung'' (1992) *''Die Novizin'' (1995) *''Letzte Warnung'' (1996) *''Liebe Stimme'' (2000) *''Adieu, Herr Landammann! Sieben Begegnungen mit Jacob Zellweger-Zuberbühler'' (2001) *''Schlafwandel. Eine Erzählung'' (2006) *''Kleine Beweise der Freundschaft'' (2014) *''Die Agonie des Schmetterlings. Böse Geschichten'' (2015) *''Übung im Torkeln entlang des Falls. Ein Lesebuch'' (2017) *''Der weisse Vogel, der Hut und die Prinzessin. 23 Märchen'' (2019)

References

1929 births 2021 deaths Swiss writers People from Rorschach, Switzerland {{Switzerland-writer-stub