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Siv Widerberg’s debut as a writer, “Gertrud på daghem” (1966), immediately summed up her vision of children and authorship: a reportage book written to give a serious account of what it means to go to preschool. Simply a manual for children, something that Siv Widerberg felt was necessary when his own daughter Gertrud was going to start in what was then called kindergarten.
It was Siv Widerberg in a nutshell: children have the right to know and be respected.
Your constant driving force It was always respect for the integrity of children, curiosity and the willingness to portray the very different conditions of children, and the ever-present anger at the injustices of life. Siv Widerberg was often enthusiastic and angry, constantly refusing to keep quiet out of any imaginary courtesy.
“The first time they saw us was at a literary criticism seminar. Siv, he said later, decided to keep quiet for once. She persevered for longer, but when the discussions about why children’s literature ‘unfortunately cannot have the same space as adult books …’ went no further. It was summer. Siv wore sandals. I’ve never seen sandals so angry, ”I wrote about her in 1990.
Siv Widerberg was the elementary school teacher who made her debut at age 35. “Normally women debut late,” he stated dryly. Then he wrote for young children, for middle-aged people, for young people, for everyone. She collected poems and stories into anthologies, presentations, and discussion posts, and made countless author visits to schools with conversations and collaborations.
“I am not a childish person”She once said, “Just because I want to write for kids doesn’t mean I’m a teacher. I want to think, speak and, if possible, convey the thoughts of children. Among the funniest is writing together, like when I work in primary and secondary school with three rowers, or if you want to call them haikus ”.
Siv Widerberg was inspired by all this for collections of poetry such as “Beware the Clouds!” (1968), “A big lie” (1970), “You don’t feel on top of me” (1973), “As I said” (1983), “Hot legs, sharp teeth” (1985) and many more. So many personal titles, whose labels also say a lot about the author herself. I wanted to convey the life of those who, for various reasons, were particularly vulnerable:
As in the now classic poem:
“Teacher
laughter
all the time strong, strong
although I have very good hearing
when i sit on a bench
and listen
the teacher does not like the voice
Teacher
He says
to another teacher
I don’t understand Swedish
when i sit on a bench
and feel
the teacher doesn’t smell good “
(Taken from “Class 6 D, Sweden, The world”)
In addition to working as a journalist at Arbetaren, Vi magazine and as editor of the Dagens Nyheter children’s and youth page, she wrote a book a year and at the same time worked as an editor, often with her daughter Gertrud Widerberg, of various stories. of fairies. anthologies of songs and dictations. Preferably in collaboration with the publishing house En bok för alla, which started in collaboration with Litteraturfrämjandet and with state support in 1976.
Together with illustrators Like Mati Lepp, Eva Lindström, Anna Clara Tidholm, and Lisa Örtengren, Siv Widerberg worked on rows of picture books, where the Rödmyran nursery series was consistently on the early preschool list. With Daghemmet Rödmyran, the crucial collaboration with cartoonist Cecilia Torudd began. Together, they came to create a preschool library complete with everyday stories for younger children.
Siv Widerberg dared to speak out about vulnerable children early on, in a way that few others dared or wanted. An abandoned child had to portray them all in the books about Hasse (“Hasse” 1983, “Hasse’s second book” 1984, “Hasse and the Pink Panther” 1985). Rarely has the loyalty of children been portrayed so closely and sincerely, even to those who fail. Some parts of the adult world were violently outraged, but the children themselves wrote and thanked Siv, “finally someone who understands.”
Over the years, he received several awards, including the Nils Holgersson Plaque, the Astrid Lindgren Award, the Gulliver Award, the Rebella Peace Award, and the Eldsjäls Award.
Siv Widerberg consistently refused niche texts for special age groups, and perhaps his author and life creed are best summed up in the title “Love and Rebellion,” 1989 Youth Poems.
Read more about children’s books and more from Pia Huss.
