Lenona
2021-11-09 17:27:51 UTC
She was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2014.
https://remonews.com/finlandeng/art-academician-and-writer-kirsi-kunnas-has-died-at-the-age-of-96-culture/
(rough translation of an obit)
https://www.bonnierrights.fi/authors/kirsi-kunnas/
(includes her awards and some book titles)
Excerpt:
"Kirsi Kunnas has passed away 8th November 2021 aged 96. She was, and remains, Finland’s most influential children’s poet and author. Kunnas, known for her brilliance and linguistic virtuosity, reformed the Finnish fairy tale and children’s poetry with Tiitiäisen satupuu (‘The Tumpkin’s Wonder Tree’) published by WSOY in 1957, which remains one of the most beloved children’s books in Finland to date. Kunnas wrote her poems and fairy tales for adults as well as children, believing that an adult and a child exist simultaneously and forever in us all. Her poetry is characterized by joy, playfulness and wonder, as well as braveness and open-mindedness. All these attributes also applied to Kirsi Kunnas herself. She was granted the honorary title of an Academician of Arts in 2009, the greatest accolade Finland can bestow upon an artist. Kirsi Kunnas’ momentous influence on the Finnish children’s literature lives on in all the new generations of Finnish authors and readers...."
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.arts.books.childrens/c/XpbU2PBaR94/m/1ouTnVWjAPEJ
(birthday post from 2014; it includes book covers, videos, filmography, and an interview in English)
Excerpt:
Her children's poems are often nonsense poems.
She's also translated works by Tove Jansson, Astrid Lindgren, Lewis Carroll, Maurice Sendak, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Margaret Wise Brown into Finnish.
https://remonews.com/finlandeng/art-academician-and-writer-kirsi-kunnas-has-died-at-the-age-of-96-culture/
(rough translation of an obit)
https://www.bonnierrights.fi/authors/kirsi-kunnas/
(includes her awards and some book titles)
Excerpt:
"Kirsi Kunnas has passed away 8th November 2021 aged 96. She was, and remains, Finland’s most influential children’s poet and author. Kunnas, known for her brilliance and linguistic virtuosity, reformed the Finnish fairy tale and children’s poetry with Tiitiäisen satupuu (‘The Tumpkin’s Wonder Tree’) published by WSOY in 1957, which remains one of the most beloved children’s books in Finland to date. Kunnas wrote her poems and fairy tales for adults as well as children, believing that an adult and a child exist simultaneously and forever in us all. Her poetry is characterized by joy, playfulness and wonder, as well as braveness and open-mindedness. All these attributes also applied to Kirsi Kunnas herself. She was granted the honorary title of an Academician of Arts in 2009, the greatest accolade Finland can bestow upon an artist. Kirsi Kunnas’ momentous influence on the Finnish children’s literature lives on in all the new generations of Finnish authors and readers...."
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.arts.books.childrens/c/XpbU2PBaR94/m/1ouTnVWjAPEJ
(birthday post from 2014; it includes book covers, videos, filmography, and an interview in English)
Excerpt:
Her children's poems are often nonsense poems.
She's also translated works by Tove Jansson, Astrid Lindgren, Lewis Carroll, Maurice Sendak, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Margaret Wise Brown into Finnish.