Danes ob stoletnici rojstva, vse najboljse AL !
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Astrid Lindgren lives on in Swedish attitudes
by: David Wiles
Astrid Lindgren was so much more than a best-selling author of
children’s books. She was also an important opinion former who helped
unseat a Swedish government, influenced changes in the law and even
inspired anarchists.

Astrid Lindgren was not afraid of speaking her mind — and people listened.
Photo: Björn Larsson Ask/Scanpix

November 14 marks the 100th anniversary of Astrid Lindgren’s birth —
and the celebrations have triggered renewed interest in her work,
nearly six years after her death. Suzanne Öhman-Sundén, co-editor of a
new book on Lindgren’s public influence, talks about Lindgren’s
legacy. “She’s the most well-known Swedish author worldwide, and
because she was so well-known, everything she said became very
important,” Öhman-Sundén says. “She reacted to things she thought were
wrong and she supported causes she believed in.”

Accidental revolutionary
Lindgren, who became an author relatively late in life, became an
influential voice on everyday issues even later.

At the age of 68 she submitted an opinion piece to the Swedish daily
Expressen on the subject of a loophole in the Swedish tax system which
meant that she, as a self-employed writer, had to pay 102 percent tax
on her income. She wrote the piece in the style of a fairytale, and it
had an immediate impact. “Pomperipossa in Monismania,” published in
1976, became front-page news and led not only to a change in the tax
law, but eventually to the fall of the social democratic government
that had been in power for 44 years.

Lena Törnqvist, who is in charge of the Astrid Lindgren archive at the
National Library of Sweden (Kungliga biblioteket), believes Lindgren
would have been willing to pay 80 percent, maybe even 90 percent, of
her income in tax because she thought the Swedish social democratic
system was good. But she was not prepared to pay more than she earned.

“I don’t think she planned a revolution, but it happened,” says Törnqvist.

After her fairytale protest against the Swedish tax system in 1976
someone gave Lindgren a crowbar — a gift that she was meant to use to
steal back her tax money from the state. Photo: Per Kagrell/Scanpix

Smacking ban
Lindgren also turned her common sense, sharp mind and clarity of
expression to the issue of violence against children. Here she used
her acceptance speech for the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade,
that she was awarded in 1978, as the platform for her views.

“The essence of the speech was that if children are brought up with
violence, chances are that they will use violence when they grow up.
And if they are people with power, this may be very dangerous,” says
Törnqvist.

The speech generated a great deal of attention in Sweden, Germany and
further afield, and was one factor behind Sweden becoming the first
country to ban the smacking of children in 1979. Lindgren’s
involvement also caught the attention of the victims; after the
speech, two boys in foster care in Germany ran away and turned up on
her doorstep in Stockholm. Lindgren helped send them back and ensured
that they were well treated from then on.

Animal rights
Lindgren’s drive to protect the powerless from the powerful also
extended to animals, and she became a high-profile advocate of the
prevention of cruelty to animals. “She was not a vegetarian, but she
knew that if we are to keep our humanity, we have to treat other
living beings with respect,” says Törnqvist.

Lindgren’s campaign, started as a reaction against industrial-scale
farming, stirred up public opinion and led to the government
announcing the so-called Lex Lindgren animal welfare law as an 80th
birthday present for the author.

Sweden’s oracle
Lindgren’s many book characters gave credibility to her opinions,
whether it was the anti-authoritarian Pippi, sticking up for children
with her strong sense of justice, or the brothers Lionheart, who
tackle heavier issues like emotional growth and death. “Everyone knew
what she stood for, although her opinions are under the surface in her
books,” says Törnqvist.

Toward the end of her long and productive life, Lindgren had become so
influential that journalists would call her up, ask her opinion on an
issue and then splash her response all over the newspapers. Her input
made a topic instantly newsworthy. “They wanted her opinion on
everything from dental care to world peace,” says Törnqvist. “There
were very few times where she chose the subject.”

Indeed, she was so influential that on the issue of Sweden’s proposed
membership of the EU — which she opposed — the pro-EU press made a
point of not talking to her. “They knew that if they gave her too much
room she would affect the discussion,” says Törnqvist.

“We learned from Pippi”
Even into her 80s and 90s, letters from people wanting Lindgren’s
support for their various causes continued. An anarchist who ran a
café for punks near Stockholm that was threatened with closure was one
of them. “Join us in this fight — we have learned from Pippi
Longstocking,” he wrote.

The courageous and warm-hearted Pippi Longstocking still inspires
people all around the world. Photo: Rabén & Sjögren

“People didn’t regard her as an old lady, and that was part of her
problem, because they demanded more of her than you can demand of a
person who is very old, almost blind and almost deaf,” says Törnqvist.

Lindgren’s legacy to Sweden is not only her much-loved books, but also
the attitudes she helped form and the laws she helped bring about.

“Astrid touched the everyday Swede,” says Öhman-Sundén. “There was a
combination of common sense, straightforwardness and warmth in
everything she did, which made her unique.”

Related publications
Swedish children’s books set new pace — Article
Astrid Lindgren — Publication
155 candidates nominated to the 2008 year Astrid Lindgren Memorial
Award — Press release

Related links
http://www.astridlindgren2007.com — The Astrid Lindgren centenary portal
http://www.kb.se — The National Library of Sweden (Kungliga biblioteket)
http://www.astridlindgrensworld.com — Astrid Lindgren’s World
http://www.alma.se — The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award
http://www.saltkrakan.se — Saltkråkan, Lindgren’s descendants’ company that
owns the copyright to her work

Related events
“Not just a bit of filth! — Astrid Lindgren as a moulder of public
opinion” — Exhibition at the National Library of Sweden until the end
of November 2007
Children first! — Exhibition at the House of Sweden in Washington, DC
September 12 – November 25, 2007
Reading Reality — Sensitive issues in Scandinavian Youth Literature —
Seminar in Brussels November 20, 2007

Vse najboljše Astrid.

Pred kakima dvema mesecema sem po službeni dolžnosti nekajkrat prebral določena poglavja iz Pike Nogavičke in znova se mi je (robatosti in bradatosti navkljub) utrnila solza in me je zaščemelo v prsih, ko sem prebiral zadnji dve strani zgodbe.

Je pa zanimivo dejstvo, ki ga mnogi ne poznajo (čeprav tule gori to najbrž veste vsi 🙂 ), da Astrid najprej s Piko ni uspelo in je prva knjiga, ki jo je izdala, govorila o povsem pridni in ubogljivi deci. Potem pa je s pomočjo te knjige prišla do objave Pike Nogavičke, ki je spremenila obličje otroškega slovstva.

da, njeni junaki niso bili ravno “klasicno” ubogljivi.Kljukec s strehe (majhen, debelusen,pameten in v najlepsih letih, kot se je opisoval) je ljudi tiritiral, figuriral in burkiral ( oblike boja od blizu), Lotta je , ker ni dobila pravega kolesa za svoj peti rojstni dan, le tega kar vzela sosedi, ge.Bergovi, Emil, ta pa ga je sploh pihnil in je – saj se je tezko odlociti – moj najljubsi lik, Pika- ni kaj reci.Njen recept proti bolecinam v trebuhu – pojej toplo krvavico in daj trebuh v mrzlo vodo, proti prehladu- spij svez petrolej, ker osvezi…,in se in se, en sam iskrivi humor in toplina.
Vzor za Emilov lik je Astridin brat , ki je v otrostvu pocel lumparije vseh prisrcnih sort….
Otrostvo na dezeli, ljubeci druzini in takorekoc brezmejni svobodi je avtorici bil vecen vir navdiha njenim delom in nam, vdanim bralcem sirom sveta, veliko, veliko veselje ter upa v vse dobro.
no, danes me je res zaneslo, rada jo imam sto na uro
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