In the Dutch language area Annie M.G. Schmidt (1911-1995) is commonly known as one of the great innovators of children’s literature of post-war times during the 20th century. Schmidt’s poetry for children has been praised for its playfulness and for the innovative ways in which it combines more traditional literary techniques with surprise elements of absurdist humor often connected to time relevant content and resulting in subtle forms of social satire in ‘child format’. Other very prominent characteristics of Schmidt’s writing are the use of (child) fantasy combined with a consequent child perspective, allowing the reader to see the world, most often ruled by adults, through the gaze of the innocent and unknowing child. This consequent use of child perspective provided a stark contrast and also a direct critique to previous (pre-war) traditions within children’s literature where morality prevailed and where child characters by rule were depicted from an adult perspective. At the same time, the renewing force in Schmidt’s authorship has to be placed in a broader social, cultural and literary context. The new child image and new way of writing for children also characterized the work and writings of many other European post-war authors of children’s literature, among which the most famous one was the Swedish Astrid Lindgren.

As several researchers have pointed out (see for example the research articles by Wikén Bonde, 1991; Waterstraat, 2010; Van Meerbergen, 2017), there are many similarities to be found between the work by Annie M.G. Schmidt and Astrid Lindgren. In the Dutch language area Schmidt even became referred to as the ‘Dutch Astrid Lindgren’ because of both personal and professional resemblances between the two authors, but also because of the similar and great impact both these ‘grand dames’ have had on the following generation(s) of children’s literary writers. Both were outspoken persons, they openly advocated for the rights of children, and they became publicly known figures within (and beyond) their time. Interesting to see is also that both were active in various ways within the media and/or publishing industry working a.o. as editors and translators of children’s literature and both also played an important role as cultural mediators of children’s literature within their own language area. It is then not by coincidence that Astrid Lindgren also came to play a key role in the translation and reception of Annie M.G. Schmidt’s work in Sweden.

The second Swedish translation wave came more exactly in 1989 when Schmidt’s youth novel Minoes, originally published in 1970, was translated into Swedish as Missan. The translation was made by Ingrid Wikén Bonde who worked as a translator of Dutch (children’s) literature and a senior lecturer in Dutch Studies at Stockholm University (see the interview with the translator Ingrid Wikén Bonde). This time the Swedish translation appeared at Berghs förlag, a smaller publisher with special focus on award winning international children’s literary authors. One year before the Swedish translation of Minoes Schmidt had received the most prestigious international literary award for children’s literature at that time, the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Yet again Astrid Lindgren’s and Annie M.G. Schmidt’s paths would cross, now for the first time in real life, as it was Astrid Lindgren who personally got to hand out the award to Schmidt at the award ceremony in Oslo in 1988.

The Swedish translation of Minoes received good reviews in the Swedish press, often comparing Schmidt’s style and her specific social engagement for the ‘weaker’ or marginalized groups in society with that of Lindgren. Still, no further translations of Schmidt’s work were made in Swedish after Missan. As is noticed by Wikén Bonde, one of the Swedish reviewers interestingly enough describes Missan as the Swedish debut of Schmidt. This shows that the first translation wave did not leave any large or permanent marks of Schmidt’s authorship, nor gave her fame, in the Swedish literary field. When the film version of the book Minoes came to the Swedish movie theaters in 2003, it appeared under a different Swedish title, Minou. Remarkably enough no new edition of the existing translation of the book was published by Berghs förlag, nor by any other publishers. When looking at the Swedish press reviews of the film, it is also notable that no mentioning is made of the (original) book and its Swedish translation from 1989.

To conclude the story of Annie M.G. Schmidt in Sweden, we can see that she never became as famous and successful in Sweden as in the Dutch language area, although she was introduced by a central and important figure such as Astrid Lindgren. Annie M.G. Schmidt will nevertheless continue to be remembered as the famous ‘Dutch Astrid Lindgren’, but this story will probably mainly be told in the Netherlands and Flanders. About the author: Sara Van Meerbergen is Associate Professor of Dutch Studies at Stockholm University. In her research she has a special interest for children’s literature in translation