Sonia Garmers (9 January 1933 – 18 March 2025) was a writer from

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

Life and career

Garmers wrote various books both in

Papiamento Papiamento () or Papiamentu (; ) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao ( ABC Islands). The language, spelled in Aruba and in Bonaire and ...

and in

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

. Garmers published her first book in Papiamento in 1955. Her first book written in Dutch ''Lieve koningin, hierbij stuur ik U mijn dochter'' ("Dear Queen, I hereby send you my daughter") was published in 1976. This book addresses

Juliana of the Netherlands Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Sh ...

, who was

Queen of the Netherlands The monarchy of the Netherlands is governed by the country's charter and constitution, roughly a third of which explains the mechanics of succession, accession, and abdication; the roles and duties of the monarch; the formalities of communica ...

at the time, with regard to Garmers sending each of her four daughters to the Netherlands for study. This, coincidentally, is the same number of daughters as Juliana. Juliana also received a copy of the book. Garmers first met Miep Diekmann in 1958. Diekmann started coaching Garmers and taught her, among other things, how to best structure a book. Diekmann coached Garmers when she was writing her first Dutch book ''Lieve koningin, hierbij stuur ik U mijn dochter'' (1976). In 1973, she published a collection of poems in collaboration with

Nydia Ecury Nydia Ecury (2 February 19262 March 2012) was an Aruban-Dutch writer, translator and actress. She published five collections of poetry and translated plays of major European and American playwrights into the Papiamentu language, helping to devel ...

and Mila Palm. In 1981, she won the

Nienke van Hichtum-prijs The Nienke van Hichtum-prijs (Dutch language, Dutch for Nienke van Hichtum Prize) is a biennial Dutch literary award for children's literature awarded by the Jan Campert-Stichting. The award is named after children's author Nienke van Hichtum and ...

for her book ''Orkaan en Mayra'' (1980). The book is a sequel to her first Dutch language children's book ''Orkaan'' which was published in 1977 and illustrated by

Thé Tjong-Khing Thé Tjong-Khing (; born August 4, 1933) is a children's book illustrator based in the Netherlands. He was born in Purworedjo, Java, Dutch East Indies to a large Chinese Indonesian family. As a child he was interested in the Tarzan comic strips ...

. In 1983, she won the Cola Debrotprijs for her contributions to literature. Garmers died on 18 March 2025, at the age of 92.

Awards

* 1981:

, ''Orkaan en Mayra'' * 1983: Cola Debrotprijs

References

External links

Sonia Garmers
(in Dutch), Digital Library for Dutch Literature
Sonia Garmers
(in Dutch), jeugdliteratuur.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Garmers, Sonia 1933 births 2025 deaths Curaçao writers Curaçao women children's writers 20th-century women writers Papiamento-language writers Nienke van Hichtum Prize winners