Irene Naemi Watts (née Kirstein, May 24, 1931 – November 21, 2023) was a German-born Canadian writer and educator.

Early life and education

Irene Naemi Kirstein was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

on May 24, 1931, and lived there for seven years. She moved to the United Kingdom by way of

Kindertransport The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children (but not their parents) from Nazi-controlled territory that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World ...

and was educated in England and Wales. Watts earned degrees in English literature and modern history at

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

. She married, had four children and taught

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

. In 1968, she came with her family to Canada.

Career

Irene taught at the

Ermineskin Ermineskin Cree Nation also known as the Ermineskin Tribe ( cr, ᓀᔮᐢᑵᔮᕽ, ), is a Cree First Nations band government in Alberta, Canada. A signatory to Treaty 6, Ermineskin is one of the Four Nations of Maskwacis, Alberta's largest ...

reserve in Hobbema, Alberta for a year and then began directing plays for young audiences. In 1977, the family moved to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. Watts served as head of Citadel on Wheels/Wings, an outreach program of the Edmonton

Citadel Theatre The Citadel Theatre is the major venue for theatre arts in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, located in the city's downtown core on Churchill Square. It is the third largest regional theatre in Canada. History It began in a former Salvati ...

, which visited schools and communities in northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories. In Halifax, she started the Young Neptune touring company and helped Tom Kerr establish the Neptune Theatre School. Watts was the founding director of the Vancouver International Children's Festival. In 2001, she was named a life member of the

Playwrights Guild of Canada Playwrights Guild of Canada (PGC) is a Canadian charity that works to advance the creative rights and interests of professional Canadian playwrights; promote Canadian plays, and foster community of writers. It was founded in 1972. History PGC has ...

. Her play ''Lillie'', about

Home Children Home Children was the child migration scheme founded by Annie MacPherson in 1869, under which more than 100,000 children were sent from the United Kingdom to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa. The programme was largely discontinu ...

in Canada, received first prize at the International Playwright's Forum of the

International Theatre Institute The International Theatre Institute ITI is the world’s largest performing arts organisation, founded in 1948 by theatre and dance experts and UNESCO. It has hosted various events through its history, including the Theatre of Nations, an intern ...

. Watts has also received an Alberta Achievement Award for outstanding service to drama.

Death

Watts died on November 21, 2023, at the age of 92.

Selected works

* ''Good-Bye Marianne'' (1998), received the

Geoffrey Bilson Award The Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young Readers is a Canadian literary award that goes to the best work of historical fiction written for youth each year. The award is named after Geoffrey Bilson, a writer of historical fiction ...

, also adapted for the stage as a one act play * ''Tapestry of Hope An anthology of Holocaust Writing for Young People'' (2003), compiled with Lillian Boraks-Nemetz, received the Yad Vashem award for

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

studies * ''The Golem of Prague'' (2009) * ''Munsch at Play, Eight stage Adaptations for Young performers'' (2010) * ''Munsch at Play Act 2: Eight More Stage Adaptions'' (2010) * ''No Moon'', young adult novel (2010), finalist for the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

Book of the Year, named one of the ten best young adult historical novels by ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'' magazine

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Irene N 1931 births 2023 deaths Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Canadian writers of young adult literature Writers from Vancouver Jewish Canadian writers Women writers of young adult literature 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers