The Poet – Maria Lutz-Gantenbein
Maria was born on May 11th 1902 as the daughter of the missionaries, Regina Dorothea and Bartholomé Gantenbein, in Cameroon. In 1905 the family returned to Chur in Switzerland – the maternal family roots were in the Grisons. In 1907 the family moved to St Gall. From 1909–1911 Maria went to the primary school in St Gall, and from 1912–1917 to the Missionary School in Basel. Because her father could not accept her desire to go to the grammar school (this was a boys’ domain), the lively young woman went to the local business school, Thalhof St Gall, from 1918–1920. At twenty she spent a year in England. If Maria could have done as she liked, she would have spent a further year in America. Instead, she began secretarial work in her uncle’s medical practice. She became very involved in the «Wandervogel-Bewegung» (a movement similar to the hippie-movement of the sixties) and was also president of the local abstinence society (!). From 1925–1927 Maria completed her grammar school education after all and studied to become a grammar school teacher. From 1927–1928 Maria worked as a language teacher at the girls’ school, «Les Frugères», near Lausanne.
On August 18th 1928 Maria married Friedrich Lutz, a bookseller from the Appenzell, whom she had met in Paris in 1922. In 1929 their only daughter, Regina Maria, was born. Maria’s definite breakthrough as a writer came in 1936. In 1940 the «Davoser Revue» introduced her first set of poems. Following this, the poetry collections: «Gefährten der Stille» (1944) and «Aus Monden reift das Jahr» (1947) were published (both by Huber, Frauenfeld). In 1948 Maria took part in the festivities for the 100th anniversary of the death of Anette Droste-Hülshoff in Meersburg (Germany). She later continued to participate in the poets’-meetings held there. Her 3rd and 4th poetry collections followed: «Die Muschel» (1952) and «Sommer ohne Glut» (1957) (Huber, Frauenfeld). In 1957 she received a recognition award from the city of St Gall and in 1958, a recognition award from the city of Zurich. In 1976 she received an accolade from the «Pro Arte» trust. In 1978 the Classen Publishing Company published «Mond und Spinne» with poems from the previous 20 years. In 1980 Maria was awarded a prize of recognition from the canton of Zurich. «Skarabäus – 42 Gedichte» (1981) and «Meine Trauer trag’ ich zum Gürteltier» (1983) were published by the Pendo Publishing House in Zurich. Maria loved to support and encourage young, innovative artists. How many evenings (continuing well into the night) were spent over wine and bread discussing with Maria and others?
On March 7th 1986 Maria Lutz-Gantenbein died after 6 weeks of serious illness in her home in Zurich-Leimbach. At her funeral on the 12th of March numerous writers read from her works. For the service one of her poems was set to music by Mario Giovanoli and performed for the first time. In the autumn of 1986 her last poetry collection, «Zeit der ungesäuerten Brote», was published posthumously; she herself had just finished the manuscript.
Translated by Lynne Mathews
