Silja Walter#Awards

{{Short description|Swiss novelist, poet and Benedictine nun (1919–2011)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}{{Infobox writer

| image = Silja Walter - Sternstunde Religion 20030629- EN-WP.jpg

| caption = Walter on SRF 1, Sternstunde Religion, broadcast on 29 June 2003

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1919|4|23|df=y}}

| birth_place = Rickenbach, Solothurn, Switzerland

| death_date = {{death date and age|2011|1|31|1919|4|23|df=y}}

| death_place = Fahr Abbey, Switzerland

| occupation = Novelist, poet, nun

| movement =

| genre = Adult literature

| awards = See awards

| relatives = Otto F. Walter (brother)

}}

Silja Walter (born Cécile Walter; 23 April 1919 – 31 January 2011) was a Swiss author and Benedictine nun in the Fahr Abbey. At age 30 she became a nun; her religious name was Maria Hedwig (OSB). Her brother, Otto F. Walter, was also an author.

Biography

Cécile "Silja" Walter's father Otto was the founder of the Walter Verlag publishing house, writer and member of the Swiss National Council, her mother, Maria Anna Cäcilia Walter-Glutz,{{cite web|url=http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D3088.php|title=Walter, Otto|publisher=HDS|author=Corinna Jäger-Trees|language=German|date=2013-08-20|accessdate=2014-12-14}} wrote lyrics for domestic use. Silja was the second oldest of eight daughters, her only brother was the writer Otto F. Walter (1928–1994). Silja Walter studied five years at a teachers' training college and began her studies of literature at the University of Fribourg. Due to a life-threatening lung disease, she had to break. In 1944 her first poetry collection "Die ersten Gedichte" was published; as relatively popular author, in 1948 she joined the Benedictine convent of Fahr Abbey.

Work and reputation

Silja Walter's work of about 60 publications includes poetry and prose, as well as festivals, oratorios and theological texts reflecting her life as nun. Silja Walter has received many awards, among them literary and cultural prices from the city of Zürich, by the Swiss Schiller Foundation in 1956 and 1992, and the art prize of the canton of Solothurn. Her book «Eine Insel finden» ("To find an island", 1984) was a best selling work, based on a radio show that confronted Silja Walter with her brother Otto F. Walter. The Walter siblings had a completely different literary activity: Her brother was a dedicated social critics, Silja Walter wrote lyrics "far away from the world" in a monastery. «Der Wolkenbaum» ("The tree in the clouds", 1992) was even more successful, reflecting Silja Walter's family history. In 2009, her biography was published, «Das dreifarbene Meer» ("The three-colored sea"), written probably on her computer: at the age of 80 she started to use computers, in 2010, she was allowed by the Prioress of the Fahr Abbey to use an Internet access.{{cite web|url=http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/kultur/buecher/Silja-Walter-ist-tot/story/24721993|title=Silja Walter ist tot|publisher=Tages-Anzeiger|author=|language=German|date=2011-01-31|accessdate=2016-04-24}}{{cite web|url=https://www.kath.ch/?s=Silja+Walter|title=Prior Irene Gassmann, Kloster Fahr: Zum Tod von Schwester Hedwig (Silja) Walter OSB|publisher=kath.ch|author=|language=German|date=2011-01-31|accessdate=2016-04-24}}

On 23 April 2016, the Silja-Walter-Raum at the Fahr Abbey was inaugurated. The monastery would appeal to people who knew the artist's work, but also for the younger generation, said Prioress Irene on occasion of an interview.{{cite web|url=http://www.limmattalerzeitung.ch/limmattal/region-limmattal/unerwartete-einblicke-hinter-die-klostermauern-zu-ehren-von-schwester-silja-walter-130223257|title=Unerwartete Einblicke hinter die Klostermauern zu Ehren von Schwester Silja Walter |publisher=Limmattaler Zeitung|author=Anna Gepp|language=German|date=2016-04-25|accessdate=2016-06-10}} Sister Maria Hedwig's literal work is inextricably linked to the Benedictine nunnery where she lived for over 60 years. During this time, Silja Walter wrote most of her literary work. After the renovation of the provost's room, its former office with its beautiful stucco ceiling was chosen to establish a small museum. It contains numerous texts, film, audio and photographic documents, as well as excerpts from the radio interview from 1982, when Silja Walter and her brother, Otto F. Walter, recorded the interview tape Eine Insel (An Island). But also personal objects like the nun's typewriter are exhibited, and also the lesser known drawings and painting of the artist. For now, the room will be open every last Sunday of the month after the worship service from approximately 10:45 to 14:00; admission is free.{{cite web|url=http://www.limmattalerzeitung.ch/limmattal/region-limmattal/silja-walter-raum-im-kloster-fahr-so-lebte-die-schreibende-nonne-130214794|title=Silja-Walter-Raum im Kloster Fahr: So lebte die schreibende Nonne|publisher=Limmattaler Zeitung|author=Sandro Zimmerli|language=German|date=2016-04-22|accessdate=2016-04-24}} Silja Walter's complete work was published posthumously in by so far 11 volumes.

Awards

1956: Literaturpreis und Kulturpreis Stadt Zürich
1992: Literaturpreis und Kulturpreis Stadt Zürich
2011: Gesamtwerkspreis Schweizerische Schillerstiftung
2011: Kunstpreis Kanton Solothurn

Selected works

{{Library resources box|by=yes|lcheading= Walter, Silja, 1919-2011}}

Die ersten Gedichte, 1944
Gedichte, 1950
Wettinger Sternsingerspiel, 1955
Die hereinbrechende Auferstehung, 1960
Der Tanz des Gehorsams oder die Strohmatte, 1970
Die Schleuse oder Abteien aus Glas. Ein Roman, 1972
Jan, der Verrückte. Ein Spiel, 1978
Ruf und Regel. Erfahrungen des Glaubens im benediktinischen Kloster, 1980
Eine Insel finden. Gespräch mit Otto F. Walter, 1983
Die Feuertaube. Neue Gedichte. Für meinen Bruder, 1985
Voll singenden Feuers. Eine Auswahl aus ihren Werken, 1990
Der Wolkenbaum. Meine Kindheit im alten Haus, 1992
Die Beichte im Zeichen des Fisches. Ein geistliches Tagebuch, 1999
Die Fähre legt sich hin am Strand. Ein Lesebuch, 1999
Ich habe meine Insel gefunden. Geheimnis im Alltag, 2006
Er pflückte sie vom Lebensbaum. Ein benediktinisches Tagebuch, 2008
Das dreifarbene Meer. Meine Heilsgeschichte – eine Biographie, 2009

References

External links

{{HDS|10056|Walter, Silja|author=Franziska Meister|date=17 November 2015}}
[http://www.kloster-fahr.ch/?page_id=105 Silja Walter on the website of the Fahr Abbey] {{in lang|de}}
[http://www.orden-online.de/wissen/w/walter-silja/ Silja Walter on orden-online.de] {{in lang|de}}

Category:1919 births

Category:2011 deaths

Category:People from Olten District

Category:Swiss poets in German

Category:Benedictine nuns

Category:Benedictine writers

Category:Swiss Benedictines

Category:Swiss women novelists

Category:20th-century Swiss poets

Category:20th-century Swiss novelists

Category:Swiss women poets

Category:20th-century Swiss women writers