Author's Profile
April - June 2002
|
ASTRID LINDGREN (1907 - 2002) |
|
 |
Astrid Lindgren, the Swedish writer whose rollicking, anarchic books about Pippi Longstocking captivated millions of children around the globe, died in her sleep at her home in Stockholm on 28 January 2002, aged 94. Astrid became one of the world's most widely translated authors since she began publishing in the 1940s. In addition to being a beloved cultural figure in Sweden, she was also a powerful political force, successfully lobbying on such issues as tax reform and improved conditions for farm animals.
Although Astrid Lindgren produced more than 70 books for young people, she was best known as the author of the classic Pippi Longstocking, which was first published in Sweden in 1945 and in the United States five years later. The title character is a 9-year-old carrot-haired enfant terrible who lives cheerfully by herself in the ramshackle Villa Villekulla and befriends her better-behaved, better-groomed neighbours, Tommy and Annika. Like many heroes of traditional Scandinavian lore, Pippi was fearless, ageless and endowed with superhuman strength. But above all, she lived, as the critic Jonathan Cott observed, "completely outside bourgeois conventions." The sequel Pippi goes on board was published in Sweden in 1946, followed by Pippi in the South Seas in 1948 and Pippi on the run in 1971, as well as several other Pippi stories not translated into English. The Pippi books have been translated into 76 languages, and also inspired numerous films in Sweden and several in the United States. In 1994 Lindgren received the Right Livelihood Honorary Award for her animal-rights campaign and for her "lifelong dedication to the rights of children." The award, given annually in Stockholm for work concerning humanitarian issues, is often described as an alternative Nobel Prize. The recipient of a host of honours throughout her career, Astrid was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1958. In 1999 she was voted the most popular Swede of the century. None of this ever seemed to go to her head. She aroused enormous affection, and those who knew her said she never lost her sense of justice or sense of fun, and that she had a complete lack of pomposity. "I don't think anything impresses me," she said, "least of all myself."
Lindgren was widowed in 1952, and lost her only son, Lars, in 1986. She is survived by her daughter Karin, and several grandchildren. [Extracted from obituaries in The New York Times (28 Jan 2002) and The Guardian (29 January 2002) ] |
