Astrid Lindgren(née Astrid Anna Emilia Ericsson) is a Swedish children's writer.
She was born on November 14, 1907 in southern Sweden, in the small town of Vimmerby in the province of Småland (Kalmar County), into a farming family. She became the second child of Samuel August Eriksson and his wife Hannah. My father was engaged in farming on a rented farm in Näs, a pastoral estate on the very outskirts of the town. Together with his older brother, Gunnar, three sisters grew up in the family - Astrid, Stina and Ingegerd. The writer herself always called her childhood happy (there were many games and adventures in it, interspersed with work on the farm and in its environs) and pointed out that it served as a source of inspiration for her work. Astrid's parents not only felt deep affection for each other and for their children, but also did not hesitate to show it, which was rare at that time. The writer spoke with great sympathy and tenderness about the special relationships in the family in her only book not addressed to children, “Samuel August of Sevedstorp and Hannah of Hult.”
As a child, Astrid Lindgren was surrounded by folklore, and many jokes, fairy tales, stories that she heard from her father or from friends later formed the basis of her own works. Her love for books and reading, as she later admitted, arose in the kitchen of Christine, with whom she was friends. It was Christine who introduced Astrid to the amazing, exciting world that one could get into by reading fairy tales. The impressionable Astrid was shocked by this discovery, and later she herself mastered the magic of the word.
Her gift for writing and passion for writing emerged as soon as she learned to read and write. Her abilities became obvious already in elementary school, where Astrid was called “Wimmerbün’s Selma Lagerlöf,” which, in her own opinion, she did not deserve.
After school, at the age of 16, Astrid Lindgren began working as a journalist for the local newspaper Wimmerby Tidningen. But two years later she became pregnant without being married, and, leaving her position as a junior reporter, went to Stockholm. There she completed secretarial courses and in 1931 found a job in this specialty. In December 1926, her son Lars was born. Since there was not enough money, Astrid had to give her beloved son to Denmark, to a family of adoptive parents. In 1928, she got a job as a secretary at the Royal Automobile Club, where she met Sture Lindgren. They married in April 1931, and after that Astrid was able to take Lars home.
After marriage, Astrid Lindgren decided to become a housewife in order to devote herself entirely to caring for Lars, and then her daughter Karin, born in 1934. In 1941, the Lindgrens moved to an apartment overlooking Stockholm's Vasa Park, where the writer lived until her death. Occasionally taking on secretarial work, she composed travel descriptions and rather banal fairy tales for family magazines and Christmas calendars, thereby gradually honing her literary skills.
According to Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking was born primarily thanks to her daughter Karin. In 1941, Karin fell ill with pneumonia, and every evening Astrid told her all sorts of stories before bed. One day a girl ordered a story about Pippi Longstocking - she made up this name right there on the spot. So Astrid Lindgren began to write a story about a girl who does not obey any conditions. Since Astrid was then advocating a new and hotly debated idea of upbringing based on child psychology, challenging conventions seemed like an interesting thought experiment to her. If we consider the image of Pippi in a generalized sense, it is based on innovative ideas in the field of child education and child psychology that appeared in the 1930s and 40s. Lindgren followed and participated in the controversy, advocating for education that respects children's thoughts and feelings. The new approach to children also affected her creative style, as a result of which she became an author who consistently spoke from the point of view of a child.
After the first story about Pippi, which Karin loved, Astrid Lindgren over the next years told more and more evening fairy tales about this red-haired girl. On Karin's tenth birthday, Astrid Lindgren made a shorthand recording of several stories, from which she then compiled a book of her own making (with illustrations by the author) for her daughter. This original manuscript of Pippi was less elaborate stylistically and more radical in its ideas. The writer sent one copy of the manuscript to the largest Stockholm publishing house, Bonnier. After some deliberation, the manuscript was rejected. Astrid Lindgren was not discouraged by the refusal; she already realized that composing for children was her calling. In 1944, she took part in a competition for the best book for girls, announced by the relatively new and little-known publishing house Raben and Sjögren. Lindgren received second prize for the story “Britt-Marie pours out her soul” and a publishing contract for it.
In 1945, Astrid Lindgren was offered the position of editor of children's literature at the publishing house Raben and Sjögren. She accepted the offer and worked in one place until 1970, when she officially retired. All her books were published by the same publishing house.
In 1946, she published her first story about the detective Kalle Blumkvist (“Kalle Blumkvist Plays”), thanks to which she won first prize in a literary competition (Astrid Lindgren did not participate in any more competitions). A sequel followed in 1951, Kalle Blumkvist Takes Risks, and in 1953 the final part of the trilogy, Kalle Blumkvist and Rasmus. With Kalle Blumkvist, the writer wanted to replace readers with cheap thrillers that glorified violence.
In 1954, Astrid Lindgren composed the first of her three fairy tales - “Mio, my Mio!” This emotional, dramatic book combines the techniques of a heroic legend and a fairy tale, and tells the story of Boo Vilhelm Olsson, the unloved and neglected son of his adoptive parents. Astrid Lindgren has repeatedly resorted to fairy tales and fairy tales, touching on the fate of lonely and abandoned children. Bringing comfort to children, helping them overcome difficult situations - this task not least motivated the writer’s work.
In the next trilogy - “The Kid and Carlson, Who Lives on the Roof”, “Carlson, Who Lives on the Roof, Arrived Again” and “Carlson, Who Lives on the Roof, Plays Pranks Again” - the fantasy hero of a kindly kind acts again. This “moderately well-fed”, infantile, greedy, boastful, pouting, self-pitying, self-centered, although not without charm, little man lives on the roof of the apartment building where the Kid lives. As Baby's imaginary friend, he is a much less wonderful image of childhood than the unpredictable and carefree Pippi. The Kid is the youngest of three children in the most ordinary family of Stockholm bourgeois, and Carlson enters his life in a very specific way - through the window, and does this every time the Kid feels left out, left out or humiliated, in other words, when the boy feels sorry for himself . In such cases, his compensatory alter ego appears - in all respects, “the best in the world” Carlson, who makes the Kid forget about his troubles.
In 1969, Stockholm's famed Royal Drama Theater staged Carlson on the Roof, which was unusual for the time. Since then, dramatizations based on Astrid Lindgren's books have been constantly performed in both large and small theaters in Sweden, Scandinavia, Europe and the United States of America. A year before the production in Stockholm, the play about Karslon was shown on the stage of the Moscow Satire Theater, where it is still performed. While Astrid Lindgren's work has attracted attention worldwide primarily thanks to theatrical performances, in Sweden the writer's fame has been greatly enhanced by films and television series based on her works. The stories about Kalle Blumkvist were the first to be filmed - the film premiered on Christmas Day 1947. Two years later, the first of four films about Pippi Longstocking appeared. Between the 50s and 80s, famous Swedish director Olle Hellboom created a total of 17 films based on Astrid Lindgren's books. Hellboom's visual interpretations, with their inexpressible beauty and sensitivity to the written word, have become classics of Swedish children's cinema.
The works of Astrid Lindgren were also filmed in the USSR: these are children's films “The Adventures of Kalle the Detective” (1976), “Rasmus the Tramp” (1978), “Pippi Longstocking” (1984), “The Tricks of a Tomboy” (based on the story “The Adventures of Emil from Lenneberga”) ", 1985), "Mio, my Mio!" (1987) and two cartoons about Carlson: “Kid and Carlson” (1968), “Carlson is back” (1970). In Russia, computer games have been created based on books about Pippi, Carlson and the story “Roni, the Robber’s Daughter.”
In 1958, Astrid Lindgren was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, which is called the Nobel Prize in children's literature. In addition to awards given specifically to children's writers, Lindgren has also received a number of awards for “adult” authors, in particular, the Karen Blixen Medal established by the Danish Academy, the Russian Leo Tolstoy Medal, the Chilean Gabriela Mistral Prize and the Swedish Selma Lagerlöf Prize. In 1969, the writer received the Swedish State Prize for Literature. Her achievements in the field of charity were recognized by the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in 1978 and the Albert Schweitzer Medal in 1989 (awarded by the American Institute for the Improvement of Animal Life).
The writer died on January 28, 2002 in Stockholm. Astrid Lindgren is one of the world's most famous children's writers. Her works are imbued with fantasy and love for children. Many of them have been translated into more than 70 languages and published in more than 100 countries. In Sweden, she became a living legend because she entertained, inspired and consoled more than one generation of readers, participated in political life, changed laws and, most importantly, significantly influenced the development of children's literature.
Swedish children's writer Astrid Lindgren (née Anna Emilia Eriksson) was born on November 14, 1907 in southern Sweden, in the small town of Vimmerby in the province of Småland, into a farmer's family.
After finishing high school, Astrid took up journalism and worked for the local newspaper Wimmerby Tidningen. She then moved to Stockholm and trained as a stenographer.
In December 1926, Astrid's son Lars was born. Due to lack of livelihood and lack of work, the young mother had to give her son to a foster family in Denmark.
In 1927, she got a job as a secretary in the office of Torsten Lindfors.
In 1928, Astrid received a job as secretary at the Royal Automobile Club.
In April 1931, she married her boss Sture Lindgren and took her husband's surname.
After marriage, Astrid Lindgren was able to take her son, whom her husband adopted. She devoted herself entirely to caring for Lars, and then for her daughter Karin, born in 1934. In fits and starts, she took on secretarial work and composed fairy tales for family magazines and Christmas calendars.
In 1944, Lindgren took part in a competition for the best book for girls, announced by the publishing house Raben and Sjögren, and received second prize for the story “Britt-Marie Pours Out Her Soul” and a publishing contract for its publication.
Astrid Lindgren jokingly recalled that one of the reasons that prompted her to write was the cold Stockholm winters and the illness of her little daughter Karin, who always asked her mother to tell her about something. It was then that mother and daughter came up with the idea of a mischievous girl with red pigtails, Pippi Longstocking. Stories about Pippi were later included in a book that Lindgren gave to her daughter on her birthday, and in 1945 the first book about Pippi was published by Raben and Sjögren.
The 1940s-1950s are the heyday of Lindgren’s creative activity. She wrote a trilogy about Pippi Longstocking (1945-1952), a story about detective Kalle Blumkvist (1946-1953).
Astrid Lindgren's books have been translated into 91 languages. The most popular stories related to the girl Pippi Longstocking and Carlson formed the basis for many theatrical productions and film adaptations.
All over the world, created by the writer.
Soon after the death of the writer in 2002, the Swedish government, in order to promote the development of children's and youth literature, was one of the largest in the field of literature for children and adolescents. The amount of monetary reward is 5 million Swedish kronor (500 thousand euros).
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
The article is devoted to a short biography of Astrid Lindgren, the famous Swedish writer, creator of numerous works for children.
Biography of Lindgren: early years
Astrid Lindgren was born in 1907 into a farming family. Since childhood, the girl loved to read a lot and was fond of folk tales and songs. Lindgren recalled her childhood years in the countryside with great love. There were several other children in the family who worked and played together. After finishing school, Astrid decided to become a journalist, worked for a while in a local newspaper, after which she moved to Stockholm. Lindgren got a job as a secretary, there wasn’t enough money, she had to do odd jobs. Astrid raised her son alone; due to her difficult financial situation, she had to give him up to foster parents for a while.
In 1928, Lindgren got married, leaving her job and devoting herself entirely to her family. Sometimes she wrote short articles and stories. They were not successful, but they brought Astrid some writing experience. One day Lindgren’s daughter asked her mother to write her a story. The result was the later famous Pippi Longstocking. The writer sent the manuscript to the publishing house, but it was not accepted. The rejection did not disappoint Lindgren, as she realized that writing stories for children was her calling. In 1944, the writer took a prize in a children's story competition.
Biography of Lindgren: recognition of success
In 1945, Lindgren's book about Pippi was published, which immediately gained enormous popularity. The writer was offered a long-term contract and an editor's job. Lindgren accepted the offer, and from that time on her fame as a children's writer grew steadily.
40-50s were a particularly productive period in the writer’s work. She writes and publishes a huge number of works for children. Lindgren works in a wide variety of genres: fairy tales, detective stories, songs, plays, etc.
In 1954, Lindgren tried her hand at the genre of heroic fairy tales, writing the beginning of the series of stories “Mio, my Mio.” At the same time, the writer begins to work on creating stories about Carlson, which are extremely popular in our country. Stories about Carlson have become no less popular in Lindgren’s homeland. Almost immediately, the Royal Theater staged a performance based on the work. Since that time, performances based on Lindgren's stories have not left the stages of theaters in many countries around the world.
Lindgren's popularity in Sweden was greatly enhanced by the film adaptation of her works. The first premiere of the film about Kalle Blumkvist took place in 1947. Subsequently, 17 more films based on Lindgren’s works were released in Swedish cinema.
Lindgren became famous throughout the country. This was due not only to her successful work, but also to the writer’s numerous appearances on radio and television. Astrid held various quizzes and performed her own works. Her voice was familiar to every Swedish child.
Lindgren was involved in social activities. She was a member of the Social Democratic Party and shared its early ideals. However, in the mid-70s. outraged by the incredible amount of tax on her activities (102%), she sent an open letter to the newspaper with a fairy tale, which contained a transparent hint of excessive bureaucratization and isolation of the ruling party from the needs of the country. Under pressure from public opinion, the tax law was revised, and in the elections that soon followed, the Social Democratic Party suffered defeat for the first time in a long time.
Another public act of the writer was again an open letter, in which Lindgren, in a fabulous form, protested against cruelty to animals. She again managed to awaken public opinion, as a result in the late 80s. Sweden passed an animal protection law.
Lindgren died in 2002, at the height of her world fame. She has received numerous Swedish and international awards, not only in the field of children's literature. Her works have been published in millions of copies around the world and translated into many languages. The main object for the writer has always been the child with his own interests and aspirations. Lindgren has always advocated the recognition of a child as a separate person, who should be respected and in no case should her freedom be oppressed. Lindgren's work is characterized by enormous humanism.
Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren- Swedish writer, author of the famous books “The Kid and Carlson Who Lives on the Roof” and the tetralogy about Pippi Longstocking.
Born November 14, 1907 years in the town of Vimmerby in southern Sweden, in a family of peasant farmers. As the writer herself stated in her autobiographical collection “My Fictions” (1971), she had a happy childhood, full of games and adventures. After graduating from high school, Astrid worked briefly as a journalist for a local newspaper, and then went to Stockholm, where she studied to be a stenographer. At the same time, she worked in her specialty. Soon she successfully married Sture Lindgren. At that time she already had a little son, Lars.
Immediately after her marriage, Astrid left her job to take care of her son and newborn daughter Karin (1934). According to the writer, her first tetralogy story, “Pippi Longstocking” (1945), was published precisely thanks to her daughter. When the girl got sick, she had to tell all sorts of stories every evening. So, one day Karin ordered a story about Pippi Longstocking, whose name she made up on the fly. The book was a stunning success. Housewife Astrid was immediately offered a job in a children's publishing house and was awarded several prizes. Today her works have been translated into many languages in 60 or more countries around the world. The story about Carlson also appeared thanks to his daughter, who often talked about a mysterious man flying into the window.
In addition to children's books, the writer sometimes created romantic stories, for example, "The Lionheart Brothers" (1979), as well as children's detective stories and picaresque stories about Emil from Lönneberga. Astrid Lindgren became the first children's writer in her country to receive an award for achievements in the field of literature. The greatest creative flowering of the writer fell in the 1940-1950s. One of Lindgren’s best works was the story-fairy tale about lonely and abandoned children “Mio, my Mio” (1954). In her free time from writing, she hosted various talk shows and quiz shows on Swedish television and radio.
Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (née Eriksson, November 14, 1907, Vimmerby, Sweden - January 28, 2002, Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish writer, author of a number of world-famous books for children, including Carlson, who lives on Roof" and the tetralogy about Pippi Longstocking. In Russian, her books became known and very popular thanks to the translation by Lilianna Lungina.
After marriage, Astrid Lindgren decided to become a housewife in order to devote herself entirely to caring for her daughter Karin.
According to Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking (1945) was born primarily thanks to her daughter Karin. In 1941, she fell ill with pneumonia, and every evening Astrid told her all sorts of stories before bed. One day a girl ordered a story about Pippi Longstocking - she made up this name on the spot. So Astrid Lindgren began to write a story about a girl who does not obey any conditions. Since Astrid was then advocating a new and hotly debated idea of upbringing based on child psychology, challenging conventions seemed like an interesting thought experiment to her.
In 1945, Astrid Lindgren was offered the position of editor of children's literature at the publishing house Raben and Sjögren. She accepted the offer and worked in one place until 1970, when she officially retired. All her books were published by the same publishing house. Despite being extremely busy and combining editorial work with household responsibilities and writing, Astrid turned out to be a prolific writer: if you count picture books, a total of about eighty works came from her pen.
Astrid Lindgren was an extraordinarily versatile author, willing to experiment in a variety of genres.
In 1946, she published her first story about detective Kalle Blumkvist, thanks to which she won first prize in a literary competition.
In 1954, Astrid Lindgren composed the first of her three fairy tales - “Mio, my Mio!” This is the story of Boo Vilhelm Ohlsson, the unloved and neglected son of his adoptive parents.
In the next trilogy - “The Kid and Carlson, Who Lives on the Roof” - the fantasy hero of a non-evil sort again acts. This “moderately well-fed”, infantile, greedy, boastful, pouting, self-pitying, self-centered, although not without charm, little man lives on the roof of the apartment building where the Kid lives. As a half-adult friend of the Kid from a half-fairytale reality, he is a much less wonderful image of childhood than the unpredictable and carefree Pippi.
