Literatur am Berg "Sarah Kuratle" in Waltensburg

Born in Bad Ischl in 1989, she grew up on both sides of the Swiss-Austrian border. She studied German language and literature and philosophy. Her poetry and prose have received many awards. With her debut novel Greta and Jannis. Eight or one hundred years ago (2021) she was shortlisted for the 2022 Text & Language Literature Prize. Her love story Iris appeared in sequels in the manuscripts. For her novel Chimera, which will be published in autumn 2025, she received the creation grant from Pro Helvetia.

Chimera tells with great poetic power of the pressing issues of our time, of the intertwining of all life and death. It touches to the core and resonates for a long time.

An island community of teachers and students is fighting to preserve biodiversity. In hanging gardens and lively drawings, they try to save lives and not perish themselves. One of them is Alice, who pretends to be Alois on the island. One day she leaves the island and wanders through the deserted expanse on the mainland. After years of oppression, she wants to perceive where she herself begins and ends, what she desires and whom she can love. Gregor, however, the friend and confidant, remains on the island. Hard experiences take their toll, he carries a trauma with him, which he tries to capture by drawing. A stranger who appears in the gardens slowly finds access to him. While Alice wanders through drained floodplains and damaged forests, Gregor's world begins to falter.