{{Short description|Swiss writer (1929–2021)}}{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Helen Meier | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing brackets --> | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = 17 April 1929 | birth_place = Mels, Switzerland | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2021|02|13|1929|04|17}} | death_place = Trogen, Switzerland | other_names = | occupation = Writer | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = }} '''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 Schweizerische Schillerstiftung prize twice, the Droste-Preis, and Culture Prizes from the Kantons of St. Gallen and Appenzell Ausserrhoden.
==Biography== Meier was born in Mels in 1929.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2021-02-13 |title=Bestand hat, was erzählt ist – Zum Tod von Helen Meier – Saiten |url=https://www.saiten.ch/bestand-hat-was-erzaehlt-ist-zum-tod-von-helen-meier/ |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=www.saiten.ch |language=de-CH}}</ref> Meier attended a {{ill|Lehrerseminar|de}} in Rorschach and subsequently became a primary schoolteacher.<ref name=":0" /> After working in England, France, and Italy, she attended the University of Fribourg, studying languages and education.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |date=13 February 2021 |title=Eine Meisterin des Ungemütlichen |url=https://www.srf.ch/kultur/literatur/zum-tod-von-helen-meier-eine-meisterin-des-ungemuetlichen |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213161600/https://www.srf.ch/kultur/literatur/zum-tod-von-helen-meier-eine-meisterin-des-ungemuetlichen |archive-date=13 Feb 2021 |work=SRF |language=German}}</ref> She subsequently worked for the Swiss Red Cross and as a special education teacher in Heiden.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":2" /> The story won the Ernst-Willner Prize and became part of her first published collection, ''Trockenwiese.''<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Meier went on to publish regularly, and wrote eight collections of short stories and three novels.<ref name=":3" /> She was awarded a number of prizes, including the Rauris Literature Prize, the Schweizerische Schillerstiftung twice, the Droste-Preis, and Culture Prizes from the Kantons of St. Gallen and Appenzell Ausserrhoden.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />
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.<ref name=":2" />
Helen Meier died in a rest home in Trogen on her birthday, 13 February 2021, at the age of 91, after suffering from dementia.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/schweizer-autorin-helen-meier-mit-91-jahren-gestorben.265.de.html?drn:news_id=1227149|title=Schweizer Autorin Helen Meier mit 91 Jahren gestorben|date=13 February 2021|work=Deutschland Kultur|language=German|access-date=13 February 2021|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420112241/https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/schweizer-autorin-helen-meier-mit-91-jahren-gestorben.265.de.html?drn:news_id=1227149|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Awards== *{{ill|Ernst-Willner-Preis|de}} (1984) *Rauris Literature Prize (1985) *Prize of the {{ill|Schweizerische Schillerstiftung|de}} (1985) *Prize of the Schweizerische Schillerstiftung (2000) *Contribution to Pro Helvetia (2000) *Droste-Preis (2000) *Kulturpreis des Kantons St. Gallen (2001) *Kulturpreis des Kantons Appenzell Ausserrhoden (2017)<ref name=":3">{{cite web |date=26 May 2017 |title=TROGEN: Erstmals Schriftstellerin geehrt |url=https://www.tagblatt.ch/ostschweiz/appenzellerland/erstmals-schriftstellerin-geehrt;art120092,4993097 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610113602/https://www.tagblatt.ch/ostschweiz/appenzellerland/erstmals-schriftstellerin-geehrt;art120092,4993097 |archive-date=10 Jun 2017 |work=Tagblatt |language=French}}</ref>
==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== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Meier, Helen}} Category:1929 births Category:2021 deaths Category:Swiss writers Category:People from Rorschach, Switzerland
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