Lindgren, Astrid
Astrid Lindgren was born and raised in a close-knit farming family. Her parents loved each other and their four children dearly, and raised them with a gentleness unusual for the time, never shy about showing affection. Perhaps it was this happy childhood that laid the foundation for the liberal views the famous writer held throughout her life. She was one of the first to speak out against corporal punishment in child-rearing.
"Never Violence" is what she called the speech she gave when she received the Peace Prize. In it she argued that one of the sources of all the misery and wars on earth is the difficult, troubled childhood of most of humanity, and she reminded parents that a child comes to know the world through the person who gives them love.
Remarkably, people listened to Lindgren's speech, and Sweden became the first country to ban corporal punishment, and that was already 40 years ago!
The writer had two children, a son and a daughter. Right after her son was born, she was forced to leave him with a foster family, because she had him when she was still very young, unmarried, and without the money to support a child. She suffered greatly over this, took him back to live with her at the first opportunity, and loved him very much.
It was thanks to her daughter that Astrid's life changed dramatically, because it was her daughter who one day asked her to tell a story about Pippi Longstocking. The girl simply made up the name, and her mother simply began telling stories about a cheerful red-haired girl. The stories she once made up for her own child were published, and Swedish children loved them so much that stopping would have been simply unfair, so Astrid Lindgren kept going. Over her lifetime she wrote several dozen children's books: some funny and mischievous, some lyrical and touching, and some sad and rather dark.
We know Lindgren as a wonderful writer, but she was also an outstanding publisher and editor. For 25 years she worked seeking out new talent, reading manuscripts, editing, working closely with authors and illustrators, assessing translations, and handling commercial and artistic matters. Lindgren was a person with a heart of gold and, on top of that, a charismatic leader around whom people gladly came together to work toward a common goal. She was warm with people, tried to give as much attention as possible to everyone who needed it, and personally answered dozens of letters every day, always restrained and kind in tone. She also often helped struggling authors, colleagues and even strangers who turned to her for help with her own money.
The directors and owners of the publishing house where she worked valued her so highly that they agreed to Astrid's rather strict terms regarding her schedule: she worked only from 1 to 5 p.m., and took three summer months off every year. But these terms were dictated not by laziness or a desire for an easy life: Astrid devoted the time free from her office duties to writing her own books. She wrote in the mornings, lying in bed, and during her holidays, which she preferred to spend at her summer house. Lindgren was not some bohemian lady with her head in the clouds; on the contrary, she was a very capable, businesslike woman who got to the bottom of everything and understood every detail. She traveled constantly on business, led an active social life in her field, talked to everyone and always kept her finger on the pulse. And, they say, she managed to do it all.
Swedish children's literature owes a great deal to Astrid Lindgren, not only for her books but, to no lesser degree, for her work as a manager.
It often happens that beloved children's books hide an author who is not the most pleasant person, but Astrid Lindgren was exactly who we want her to be: sincere, kind, easygoing. Simple and modest, yet intelligent and influential. Astrid remained very active to the end of her life, and she lived to the age of 94.
