Background
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, wrote lyrics for domestic use.
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, wrote lyrics for domestic use.
Silja Walter studied five years at a teachers" training college and began her studies of literature at the University of Fribourg.
Born as Cécile Walter in Rickenbach, Solothurn, in Switzerland, at the age of 30 she became a nun: her religious name was Maria Hedwig (OSB). Her brother, Walter, was also a popular Swiss author 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. 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.
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.
Walter: Gespräch zwischen Walter und Silja.