"There are two things I have never been able to shake off in my entire life: the urge to travel, which began when I started earning money, and the urge to write." (1)
Born in Hostert in 1897 to Johann Rodenbour and Marie Nickels, Mie came from a large family with eight brothers and sisters. From an early age, she developed a passion for reading, which she expressed as follows: "These books are friends, telling the most wonderful stories from the most wonderful worlds, inviting you to encounter flames, time, and the music of such blue nights..."
After attending teacher training college, Mie Rodenbour taught in Perlé, where she met her colleague Albert Wingert, whom she married in 1922. In 1923, she accompanied her husband to the Saarland, where he was appointed director of the French schools under the supervision of the League of Nations. Mie, for her part, became a lecturer in Völklingen.
After Hitler came to power, the couple returned to Luxembourg and in 1933, Mie Wingert-Rodenbour left her husband. Encouraged by Kathrin C. Martin, whom she had met during her stay in Perlé, she embarked on a career in journalism. She also maintained friendships with Ry Boissaux and Maria Gleit.
During the Second World War, she supported herself by renting rooms to students. After the war, Mie Rodenbour became an editor at La Meuse-Luxembourg, where she was responsible for the page devoted to Luxembourg. At the same time, she held a part-time job at the National Library. In 1946, she joined the committee of the Société des naturalistes luxembourgeois (Luxembourg Naturalists' Society).
Mie Rodenbour was a prolific writer: she composed poems expressing her love of nature, as well as narratives and travel stories. Her collection of short stories, Feuer, Frauen und Firnen (1946), brings together five stories illustrating the diverse destinies of women. In "Hepp weiss Bescheid", originally published in Luxemburger Wort, she seeks to convey knowledge about flora and fauna to a young audience in a playful way. Her memories of faraway countries also crystallised into stories and poems. A characteristic feature of her work is her innate sense of humour and her passion for witty jokes.
The writer died on 4 February 1959.
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(1) Luxemburger Wort, 17 April 1957
Sources:
● https://www.autorenlexikon.lu/page/author/163/1636/FRE/index.html
● Luxemburger Wort, 17 April 1957