Maja Beutler
Swiss writer (1936–2021)
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Maja Beutler (nee Maroni; 8 December 1936 – 15 December 2021) was a Swiss writer who wrote in German. She published seven novels, three collections of short stories and three other collections of radio commentaries. She won four Bernese Book Prizes, a Schiller Prize and a Welti Prize.
Maja Beutler | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 December 1936 Bern, Canton of Bern, Switzerland |
| Died | 15 December 2021 (aged 85) Switzerland |
| Occupation | Writer |
Career
Beutler was born in Bern on 8 December 1936, and was an only child. Her mother was German-Swiss and her father, who owned a printing press, was Italian-Austrian.[1][2][3] She learned interpretation in Zurich, and studied in France, England and Italy, working as an interpreter for a food company and as a conference organizer at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Rome.[1] Beutler returned to Bern to manager her father's printing shop in 1960, after he became ill.[1][3] She married Urs Beutler, who had been a childhood friend, in 1961.[1] They had three children together.[1]
Beutler worked as a translator and was resident author for Stadttheater Bern in the mid-1980s.[3] She had a long-running morning stories radio show on Schweizer Radio DRS, which introduced her to a wider audience. In total, her published work includes seven novels, three collections of short stories and three other collections of radio commentaries.[1] Her first book was “Flissingen fehlt auf der Landkarte”. Her last book was published in 2013, and was titled “Ich lebe schon lange heute” (I have been alive for a long time today).[1] She explained to an interviewer at the age of 80 that she still wrote, but only for herself.[4] She was awarded four Bernese Book Prizes, a Schiller Prize and a Welti Prize for Drama.[1]
Beutler died on 15 December 2021, at the age of 85.[1]
Works
- Flissingen fehlt auf der Karte. Geschichten. Zytglogge, Gümligen 1976
- Das Blaue Gesetz, Uraufführung 1979
- Der Traum, Ballettlibretto, Uraufführung 1980
- Fuss fassen. Roman. Zytglogge, Gümligen 1980
- Die Wortfalle. Roman. Benziger, Zürich 1983
- Das Marmelspiel, Uraufführung 1985
- Das Bildnis der Doña Quichotte. Erzählungen. Nagel & Kimche, Zürich 1989
- Lady Macbeth wäscht sich die Hände nicht mehr, Uraufführung 1994
- Die Stunde, da wir fliegen lernen. Roman. Nagel & Kimche, Zürich 1994
- Schwarzer Schnee. Erzählungen & Das Album der Signora. Zytglogge, Oberhofen 2009
Prizes
- Buchpreis der Stadt Bern (1976/1980/1984)
- Preis der Schillerstiftung (1983)
- Welti-Preis für das Drama (1985)
- Literaturpreis der Stadt Bern (1988)