ASTRID LINDGREN IN MEMORIAN
"Farväl Astrid"
The whole world's libertarian queen of fairy tales is dead. The popular Swedish children’s writer Astrid Lindgren has died aged 94. She died peacefully Monday in her home in Stockholm after some weeks of illness. Her first book, “Britt-Mari opens her heart”, was published in 1944. The same year she started working on the first novel about her most popular character - the freckled, red-haired, anarchist Pippi Longstocking, the "strongest girl in the world". She came up with the story when her daughter Karin was ill and asked her mother to read a fairy tale. In 1947 the book was published and it has become a huge success throughout the world, though many parents at first were shocked by the anarchistic Pippi and the way she opposed the archs of her society and (non-ochlarchical) mocked (the a bit ochlarchical) teachers and police. Since then her works – including novels, short stories, plays, song books and poetry - has been translated into about 80 languages, and has sold over 100 million copies. About 50 films based on her novels have been made.
Lindgren also used her writing skills to voice political concerns, and however not writing directly about anarchism, she had a libertarian tendency. In 1976 she wrote an article that criticized the greedy statist-plutarchist tax legislation in Sweden. The article was called “Pomperipossa in the world of money”, and it helped change the law. Throughout her life she was a staunch defender of children’s rights, feminism and animal welfare. In 1998 Astrid Lindgren's Children Hospital was opened, named in her honour. It is one of the biggest children hospitals in Northern Europe.
Anarchist greetings from AFIS - and rest in peace Astrid, the creator of one of the most famous anarchist child characters in the world. Your works have probably inspired lots of children to oppose authoritarian parental guidence all over the world. The Swedish public broadcasting TV1 talked a lot of the anarchist tendency in Astrid's writings 28.01.2002. Many people have written about the anarchist Pippi. We are quoting some words of wisdom from different persons, in Swedish. People that cannot read our language may try an international translation machine on Internet to get the grips of it, say, http://www.tranexp.com:2000/InterTran?
PS. We have also included a note from Norway, where she was celebrated as an anarchist lady 29.01.2002. By the way the antiauthoritarian Icelandic artist Björk mentions in an interview in MELODY MAKER - EARLY 1996 (by David Bennun and Lili Wilde), about the women who most affected her during her "maddest year ever", which is no doubt saying something; - among them ASTRID LINDGREN: "I didn't realize until I started reading the books for my son what a fucking rebel Pippi Longstocking is like. Fuck the feminists, I'll put them in the fire and burn them all, whatever, but Pippi Longstocking - yesss! Punk, Sex Pistols, they're fake compared to her. Her message was, no parents, unlimited money, you don't go to school, you eat when you want to, you sleep when you want to. She was the strongest person in the world, so if the police try to stop you doing things, you just put them in the air and throw them away." -
This should of course not be taken literally, but ironically, i.e. we don't approve of the vulgar language of Björk, but understand her artistical freedom. But it indicates also a message to our dear fellows in AFIN and the Anarchy of Norway, with their large oil wells, i.e. they have a situation quite similar to Pippi, as long as it is going to last. They should prepare for the end of it by real investment in machinery, education and research, etc., as well as financially abroad, to keep up the anarchy later on! We have also got feedback internationally from outside Scandinavia on our press release 28.01.2002, say, - "Thats so cool! I never knew Pippi Longstocking is an anarchist! Also, me and my friends went to school with The Bible, and started to read it (P.L.). We got in huge trouble and it had a huge impact! Sincerely, M. L." and "Recibimos el mensaje, gracias. Compartimos la pérdida. Comunidad del Sur" (from South America). In populist Argentina "La Nacion" also writes about the anarchist Pippi, but it says she is popular because she has no discipline. This is however not quite true, because Pippi has a bit self-dicipline, although not taking cadaver discipline... Ein! - Zwei! - Drei!!!
Den högt älskade författarinnan Astrid Lindgren är död. Hon avled på måndagsförmiddagen stilla i sitt hem i Stockholm efter en tids sjukdom, berättar hennes familj. Astrid Lindgren blev 94 år.
Detta vackra citat är taget ur Pippi i Söderhavet av Astrid Lindgren: "Fina lilla krumelur, jag vill inte bliva stur." - "Stor" menar du väl, sa Tommy. - Har jag sagt "stur", så menar jag "stur", sa Pippi. Citatet visar tydligt hur väl utvecklad Pippis anarkistiska ådra är.
Pippi i Frankrike (1951) "Det franska förlag som gav ut Pippi Långstrump censurerar henne häftigt och stryker det alltför provocerande och anarkistiska. Bl a vill det franska förlaget inte ha ett omslag som visar hur Pippi på raka armar lyfter en häst. Möjligtvis kan de tänka sig ett omslag som visar hur Pippi på raka armar lyfter en liten ponny. 'Franska barn har erfarenheter av krig, så de är mer realistiska än svenska', menar förläggaren. 'Franska barn skulle aldrig tro på en flicka som är så stark att hon kan lyfta en fullvuxen häst.' 'Oj då', svarar Astrid Lindgren. 'Men visa mig då en verklighetsbild på en flicka som på raka armar lyfter en ponny.' Först 1995 efter att en kritisk uppsats skrivits om den franska Pippi-översättningen, fick de franska barnen möjlighet att ta del av Pippi i Astrid Lindgrens egen tappning." Ur "Astrid Lindgren – en levnadsteckning" av Margareta Strömstedt.
När Pippi-böckerna översattes till franska strök förlaget formuleringar där hon är ohövlig mot vuxna. Därmed lyckades fransmännen förstöra alltsamman. Pippi är nämligen i grunden anarkist, ”en anarkosyndikalistisk aristokrat”, onekligen en originell ståndpunkt. Gunnar Fredriksson 28.01.2002.
Anarkistisk dame - "Astrid Lindgen har betydd enormt mye for meg, både som leser, forfatter og som menneske. Men jeg vil først og fremst tenke på henne som en .... anarkistisk dame som ikke var redd for å provosere, være skarp eller komme med politiske utspill, ..." sier barnebokforfatteren Gro Dahle, Norge. Dagsavisen 29.01.2002.
Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren, född Ericsson 14 november 1907 i Vimmerby landsförsamling i Småland, död 28 januari 2002 i Stockholm, var en svensk barnboks-, sångtext- och manusförfattare samt förlagsredaktör och anarkistisk opinionsbildare. Hon är känd över hela världen för sina barnböcker om bland andra Pippi Långstrump (1945), Barnen i Bullerbyn (1947), Karlsson på taket (1955), Madicken (1960), Emil i Lönneberga (1963), Saltkråkan (1964) och Bröderna Lejonhjärta (1973) samt Ronja Rövardotter (1981). Lindgren var under senare delen av sitt liv en betydande samhällsdebattör. I valrörelsen 1976 publicerades hennes novell Pomperipossa i Monismanien i Expressen. Hon ansåg där, att det var absurt, att egenföretagare kunde få betala mer i marginalskatt än de tjänade. Novellen fick stor uppmärksamhet och spridning. Regeringens bemötande av Lindgren när finansminister Gunnar Sträng först svarade, att Lindgren har djup okunskap i skattepolitikens irrgångar, för att senare erkänna att hon hade rätt i sak, anses ha varit en bidragande faktor till att socialdemokraterna förlorade regeringsmakten för första gången på 40 år.