Astrid Lindgren and the Archives

Authors

  • Helene Ehriander Linnæus University, Sweden

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21153/pecl2012vol22no1art1125

Keywords:

Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking, animal welfare, The Brothers Lionheart, Emil, Karlsson-on-the roof, Swedish children's literature

Abstract

The author Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), well-known for the characters Pippi Longstocking, the Brothers Lionheart, Emil and Karlsson-on-the roof, is for many Swedes a genuine national icon. On several occasions, when a list of the most popular and influential Swede has been published, Astrid Lindgren’s name has been prominent. Around the year 2000 many Swedes voted Astrid Lindgren the most important person of the entire 2000 years, something that says much about our often short memory, but more about how popular Astrid Lindgren really is. In the year she turned 90 she was selected as ‘This Year's Swede in the World’ by The Society for Swedes in the World because few Swedes have been so esteemed throughout the world. On receiving the prize she said, ‘You are giving the prize of This Year's Swede in the World to a person who is extremely old, half blind, half deaf and completely mad. We must be careful about spreading this around’ (Törnqvist-Verschuur 2011, p.120).

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Author Biography

  • Helene Ehriander, Linnæus University, Sweden

    Helene Ehriander is a lecturer in the Department of Comparative Literature at the Linnæus University, Växjö. She defended her thesis on ‘Humanism and the View of History in Kai Söderhjelm’s Historical Novels for Children and Young People’, in Comparative Literature at the University of Lund in October 2003. She is currently writing a book on Astrid Lindgren as an editor at the publishing house Rabén & Sjögren and completing a study on Astrid Lindgren as an Swedish icon.

References

Åkerman, P. (1992) ‘Bokförläggaren Hans Rabén’ (‘Publicist Hans Rabén’), in K. Bohlund, P. Frank, J. Lagerstedt & G. Rönnberg (eds) Rabén, Sjögren och alla vi andra. Femtio års förlagshistoria. Stockholm, Rabén & Sjögren, pp.15-17.

Carlberg, G. (1992) ‘God dag min välgörare!’ (‘Good Morning my Benefactor!’), in K. Bohlund, P. Frank, J. Lagerstedt & G. Rönnberg (eds) Rabén, Sjögren och alla vi andra. Femtio års förlagshistoria. Stockholm, Rabén & Sjögren, pp.28-29.

Eriksson, M. (2001) ‘En bra bok ska vara bra’ (‘A good book should be good’), in S. Hellsing, B. Westin, S. Öhman-Sundén & A. Lindgren (eds) Allrakäraste Astrid. En vänbok till Astrid Lindgren. Stockholm, Rabén & Sjögren, pp.78-95.

Lindgren, A. (1953) ‘Att skriva för barn’ (‘Writing for children’), Svenska Dagbladet , 1953-11-14. Lindgren, A. (1958) ‘Därför behöver barnen böcker’ (‘Why children need books’), Skolbiblioteket

Lindgren, A. (1970) ‘Litet samtal med en blivande barnboksförfattare’(‘A short conversation with an aspiring author of children’s books’), Barn och kultur 6.

Söderhjelm, K. (1991) Hellre kärlek än krig (Rather Love than War). Stockholm, Rabén & Sjögren.

Törnqvist, L. ’Från vindslåda till världsminne. Astrid Lindgrens arkiv i Kungl. Biblioteket’. (‘From box in the attic to world memory’) Kungliga biblioteket. Available from: http://www.kb.se/Dokument/Biblis/33_tornqvist.pdf [accessed 14 august 2012]

Törnqvist-Verschuur, R. (2011) Den Astrid jag minns (‘The Astrid I Remember’). Vimmerby, Astrid Lindgren-Sällskapet.

Wallinder, A. (1987) Vem bestämmer? (‘Who decides?’). Gävle, Cikada.

Letters and unpublished material

Letter from Astrid Lindgren to Kai Söderhjelm in June 1955, handwriting section of Åbo Akademi. Letter from Astrid Lindgren, 9 March 1966, Rabén & Sjögren’s archive.

Letter from Astrid Lindgren, 30 March 1966, Rabén & Sjögren’s archive.

Letter from Astrid Lindgren to Åsa Nelvin, 28 July 1968, private archive.

Letter to Astrid Lindgren from Antoinette Baker, 5 August 1970, Kungliga biblioteket (Swedish Royal Library).

Astrid Lindgren collection, Kungliga biblioteket (Swedish Royal Library), acc 2009/28. LUF 229, Folk Life Archives at the Division of Ethnology at Lund University.

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Published

2012-01-01

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Section

Articles

How to Cite

“Astrid Lindgren and the Archives” (2012) Papers: Explorations into Children’s Literature, 22(1), pp. 81–93. doi:10.21153/pecl2012vol22no1art1125.

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