Helene Scheu-Riesz
Helene Scheu-Riesz | |
---|---|
Olmütz, Austria-Hungary | |
Died | 8 January 1970 , Austria | (aged 89)
Occupations |
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Years active | 1900–1954 |
Helene Scheu-Riesz (18 September 1880 – 8 January 1970) was an Austrian
Early life and family
Born on 18 September 1880 in
Returning to Austria, Riesz became active in the women's movement, publishing articles in support of women's rights and taking a special interest in opportunities for children.
Career
Activism
Inspired by the cheap yet attractive booklets with short stories for children which had become popular in England, in 1905 Scheu-Riesz established a committee, along with Eugenie Hottmann and another activist, to organize the publication in German of similar little books for children at affordable prices in Austria. The beautifully illustrated collection focused on fairy tales and children's stories in German which cost far less than the poorly presented editions which were appearing in the shops for Christmas at horrendous prices. Most of the stories were rewritten by women with attractive new titles. Families were invited to purchase books for children, instead of or along with toys. Subscriptions were also available, allowing the committee to print large volumes of the stories for children's hospitals and humanitarian associations.[8] Scheu-Riesz saw books as a means of creating better understanding between peoples and improving international relationships.[7][16] Over the years, frequently traveling to England, she collected children's stories from various countries and assembled a collection of over 300 volumes, which also included French stories.[3] Under the influence of her friend Eugenie Schwarzwald, Scheu-Riesz became active in educational reform.[16] From the time of her teenage visit to London, she had tried to find a publisher interested in producing inexpensive, high-quality literature for children and young people.[7] She was able to realize these plans in 1923 when she founded her own publishing house, Sesam-Verlag.[6][17] The name was a play on the phrase "open sesame" from the tale "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" which magically opened the door (to knowledge), and its philanthropic mission took prevalence over earning a profit.[18] At the time, the two leading children's publishers were Gerlachs Jugendbücherei (Gerlach's Youth Library) and Konegens Kinderbücher (Konegen's Children's Books) and she took over the market share of Konegen.[17]
Scheu-Riesz campaigned for women's suffrage and worked in the international settlement movement. She wrote articles which appeared in the October 1913 issue of Zeitschrift für Frauen-Stimmrecht on both issues.[9][19] She urged women to join the Austrian Voting Rights Committee to fight for their rights as citizens.[19] After attending the 10th International Housing Congress in The Hague, she encouraged women to get involved in housing reforms. In the Netherlands, she reported she had met a woman housing inspector who focused on improving housing legislation and actively encouraged women and girls to participate in elevating the lives of apartment dwellers through social and artistic programs.[9] Scheu-Riesz linked housing initiatives and education as meeting points for new ideas and after World War I, was involved in a government housing program which constructed homes for 50,000 people.[20] She also pressed authorities to eliminate nationalist curricula from schools and focus on more practical learning.[21][22] In addition to updating the materials used in schools, she wrote articles urging that teaching staff and teaching methods should be modernized and professionalized, moving away from the military model, which had been in use prior to the war.[23]
After writing several poems about peace, Scheu-Riesz was invited to attend the 1915 Women at the Hague congress,[20] which resulted in the founding of the Committee of Women for Permanent Peace, subsequently known as the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).[24][25][Notes 1] She represented Austria at the organization's 1919 international congress in Zürich, at the 1921 congress in Vienna, and the 1924 congress in Washington, D.C.[27][28][29] Although not an official delegate, she also participated in the International Congress of Women, held in Vienna in July 1921.[30] In 1931, Scheu-Riesz became a vice-president of the Austrian chapter of the WILPF.[31] After moving to the United States, she continued to work with WILPF, through the North Carolina branch, giving lectures to women's groups.[20][32]
Writing
Scheu-Riesz began working as a journalist at an early age.
Among her influential translations was her version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Published in 1912, it was the second translation of the book into German and remained the dominant translation into the 1960s.[35] Despite a large number of reprints of her version, the genre of deliberate literary nonsense was virtually unknown in Germany and faced criticism as to whether it was appropriate for children.[36] In an effort to make the book more palatable for German readers, until the 1960s, translations attempted to make the book more akin to the more familiary genre of fairy tales.[36] In 1923, she produced the first translation of the sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. Her version attempted a faithful rendering of the text, however, the nonsensical text proved difficult to translate, as words such as "brillig", "chortle", and "slithy" were invented by Carroll.[37] Her translation, Alice im Spiegelland, was republished by Ulan Press in 2012,[38] and also in 2017 by Verlagshaus Jacoby & Stuart .[39]
Relocation to the United States
Scheu-Riesz's husband Gustav, who had become a social democratic politician, died in 1935.
In 1949, Scheu-Riesz founded Open Sesame Inc. New York, as a vehicle to provide funds for United World Books.
Later life, death, and legacy
In 1954, Scheu-Riesz returned to Vienna where she retrieved the house in Hietzing specially designed by her friend Adolf Loos. She remained active in the publishing business while also providing support for young people interested in drama or music.
Notes
- ^ According to the official congress report, the delegates from Austria who registered to attend the 1915 Congress included Berta Frolich, Leopoldine Kulka, Helene Lecher, Rosa Mayreder, Olga Misař, Flora Weinwuem, and Francis Wolf-Cirian .[26]
References
Citations
- ^ a b Blumesberger 2015, p. 1004.
- ^ Phillips 2001, p. 195.
- ^ a b c The Charlotte Observer 1938a, p. 16.
- ^ Hofmann-Weinberger 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Dreher 2001, p. 144.
- ^ a b c d e f Blumesberger 2016, pp. 2872–2873.
- ^ a b c Kaltenborn 1926, p. 93.
- ^ a b Neues Frauenleben 1905, p. 26.
- ^ a b c Scheu-Riesz 1913b, p. 3.
- ^ Immell 2000, p. 19.
- ^ a b c d Jammernegg 2019b.
- ^ Jammernegg 2019a.
- ^ Cohen 2016, p. 214.
- ^ Riddle 2012.
- ^ Blumesberger 2015, pp. 1004–1005.
- ^ a b c Dreher 2001, p. 145.
- ^ a b Hall 1985.
- ^ Dreher 2001, pp. 148, 150.
- ^ a b Scheu-Riesz 1913a, p. 1.
- ^ a b c The Charlotte Observer 1938b, p. 6.
- ^ The Wichita Eagle 1926, p. 14.
- ^ Milner 1942, p. 36.
- ^ Dreher 2001, p. 146.
- ^ Macmillan 1915, pp. xxxvii–xxviii.
- ^ Paull 2018, pp. 256, 262.
- ^ Macmillan 1915, p. 243.
- ^ WILPF Report 1919, p. 441.
- ^ WILPF Report 1921, p. 307.
- ^ WILPF Report 1924, p. 148.
- ^ Balch 1921, p. 25.
- ^ Jammernegg 2019c.
- ^ The Charlotte Observer 1939, p. 18.
- ^ a b The Guardian 1927, p. 8.
- ^ a b Hood 1940, p. 18.
- ^ O'Sullivan 2015, p. 261.
- ^ a b O'Sullivan 2015, p. 262.
- ^ Levinovitz 2011.
- ^ Lindseth & Tannenbaum 2015, p. 408.
- ^ Carroll 2017.
- ^ a b c Howard 2008.
- ^ a b Blumesberger 2015, p. 1005.
- ^ a b The News & Observer 1940, p. 8.
- ^ The News & Observer 1938, p. 3.
- ^ The Herald-Sun 1940, p. 11.
- ^ a b The Daily Times 1944, p. 3.
- ^ a b The Honolulu Advertiser 1941, p. 29.
- ^ a b Pensacola News Journal 1949, p. 32.
- ^ a b The State 1950, p. 23.
- ^ Scheu-Riesz 1953, p. 6.
- ^ Dreher 2001, p. 150.
- ^ Smith 2008, p. 53.
- ^ Donahue 2008, p. 48.
Bibliography
- OCLC 259988472.
- Blumesberger, Susanne (2016). "Scheu-Riesz Helene, Scheu-Rieß, Scheu-Riess, geb. Riesz; Schriftstellerin, Kinderbuchautorin, Verlegerin und Übersetzerin [Scheu-Riesz, Helene; Scheu-Rieß, Scheu-Riess, née Riesz; Writer, Children's Book Author, Publisher and Translator]". In Korotin, Ilse (ed.). biografiA: Lexikon österreichischer Frauen [Biography: Austrian Lexicon] (PDF) (in German). Vol. 3: P-Z. Vienna, Austria: ISBN 978-3-205-79590-2.
- Blumesberger, Susanne (2015). "Scheu-Riesz, Helene". Handbuch der österreichischen Kinder- und Jugendbuchautorinnen [Handbook of Austrian Children's and Youth Book Authors] (in German). Vienna, Austria: ISBN 978-3-205-78552-1.
- ISBN 978-3-946593-22-5.
- Cohen, Laurie R. (2016). "ISBN 978-0-252-04041-2. – via Oxford University Press Academic(subscription required)
- Donahue, Deirdre (10 February 2008). "Love between the Covers". Newspapers.com.
- Dreher, Christiane (2001). "Helene Scheu-Riesz". In Spalek, John M.; Feilchenfeldt, Konrad; Hawrylchak, Sandra H. (eds.). Deutschsprachige Exilliteratur seit 1933. Band 3/ Teil 3, USA [German-Language Exile Literature since 1933] (in German). Vol. 3: Part 3, USA (Reprint 2020 ed.). Bern, Switzerland: ISBN 978-3-11-096693-0. – via De Gruyter(subscription required)
- Hall, Murray G. (1985). "Der Rikola-Konzern – Exkurs: Sesam-Verlag [The Rikola Group – Digression: Sesam-Verlag]". Österreichische Verlagsgeschichte, 1918-1938 [Austrian Publishing History, 1918-1938] (in German). Vol. 2. Vienna, Austria: ISBN 978-3-205-07258-4.
- Hofmann-Weinberger, Helga (2019). "Mädchengymnasium des Vereins für Erweiterte Frauenbildung" [Girls' Gymnasium of the Association for Advanced Women's Education]. Frauen in Bewegung (in German). Vienna, Austria: Ariadne. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
- Hood, Sam (3 March 1940). "Austrian Reformer Now Working in Chapel Hill". Newspapers.com.
- Howard, Philip (29 November 2008). "Ocracoke's Artists' Colony". Newsletters. Ocracoke, North Carolina: Village Craftsmen. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
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- Jammernegg, Lydia (2019c). "Internationale Frauenliga für Frieden und Freiheit, österreichischer Zweig: FunktionärInnen und Mitglieder" [Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Austrian Branch: Officials and Members]. Frauen in Bewegung 1848–1938 (in German). Österreichische Nationalbibliotek. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- Jammernegg, Lydia (2019b). "Scheu-Riesz, Helene". Frauen in Bewegung 1848–1938 (in German). Österreichische Nationalbibliotek. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
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- OCLC 1327848600.
- Milner, Rosamond (12 July 1942). "Books and By-Products". Newspapers.com.
- O'Sullivan, Emer (2015). "Miss Zimmermann and Her Successors: German Versions of Alice in Wonderland". In Lindseth, Jon A.; Tannenbaum, Alan (eds.). Alice In a World of Wonderlands: The Translations of Lewis Carroll's Masterpiece. Vol. 1. Essays (First ed.). New Castle, Delaware: ISBN 978-1-58456-331-0.
- Paull, John (2018). "12. The Women Who Tried to Stop the Great War: The International Congress of Women at The Hague 1915". In Campbell, Andrew H. (ed.). Global Leadership Initiatives for Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding. Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI Global. pp. 249–266. ISBN 978-1-5225-4994-9.
- Phillips, Zlata Fuss (2001). "Helene Scheu-Riesz (1880-1970)". German Children's and Youth Literature in Exile 1933-1950: Biographies and Bibliographies. Munich, Germany: ISBN 978-3-11-095285-8.
- Riddle, Mason (15 August 2012). "Lisl Close, the Twin Cities Architect with a Modernist Vision". from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- Scheu-Riesz, Helene (October 1913a). "Aus dem Oesterreichischen Stimmrechtskomitee" [From the Austrian Voting Rights Committee]. Zeitschrift für Frauen-Stimmrecht (in German). III (7). Vienna, Austria: Hugo Heller & Co.: 1. OCLC 61662975. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- Scheu-Riesz, Helene (30 June 1953). "Children's Books: The Way to Peace". Newspapers.com.
- Scheu-Riesz, Helene (October 1913b). "Die Wohnungsfürsorge und die Frauen" [Housing and Women]. Zeitschrift für Frauen-Stimmrecht (in German). III (7). Vienna, Austria: Hugo Heller & Co.: 3. OCLC 61662975. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
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- Report of the Third International Congress of Women, Vienna, July 10-17, 1921 (Report). Geneva, Switzerland: OCLC 259988472. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
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- "(untitled)". Neues Frauenleben (in German). XVII (12). Vienna, Austria: Goldschmiedt Verlag: 26. December 1905. OCLC 405887866. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
In England gibt es seit Jahren
- "Viennese Will Discuss Austria at U.N.C. Meet". Newspapers.com.