Annie M.G. Schmidt
‘Dear Hans Christian’
Dankwoord bij de Andersenprijs 26 september 1988

Dear Hans Christian,

 

I got your award!

Needless to say how happy I am.

Your fairytales have been a part of my life, since I was a little girl. I laughed and cried over them when I was nine and they still inspire me.

So I felt proud indeed when the news reached me in April. Later on however I got scared.

I knew I had to fly all the way to Oslo. As you know we fly in aeroplanes nowadays, not on our own wings anymore. Norway is a beautiful and wonderful country, they told me, although alcoholic drinks are difficult to get. However I was more scared because of the speech I had to make. In English. My accent is terrible, even worse than yours was, when you read your story about the ugly duckling to Charles Dickens in London, do you remember?

It is a bit curious and frustrating to make a speech in English, when my best books are not available in that language.

The international jury had to read my work in German or Japanese or Danish, perhaps to their irritation. The Dutch ibby (International Board on Books for Young People) kept saying: O, she's very popular in Holland. So is football, the jury replied, but because she is on the nomination list since 1960, we'll take the risk.

And so they did.

Dear Hans, I have been an ugly duckling for a long time, now I am an old and ugly swan. But still a swan.

Yours for ever, respectfully,

Annie M.G. Schmidt

Dear Annie,

 

Congratulations on my award.

As for the alcoholic drinks, at the place where I am now, they are even more difficult to get.

I know quite well that I have seen you as a little girl of nine weeping over my little mermaid. I was touched. Yesterday I have spoken about you with my friends Heinrich Heine and Charles Dickens.

We agreed that you have some talent. So: Go on! Proceed! Try again!

Don't go into playwriting. I did and I failed. So stick to your silly old fairytales, like I did.

Because we are not without influence here we shall try to punish the English and American publishers, who refuse to publish your best books.

On my video - yes, we have video in the conversation-room - I shall follow the ibby congress.

But, believe me, I'll turn it off the moment when those professors start trying to convince me, that the so-called media, all those chips and clips and floppydisks and disgusting pictures, will eventually prevail over literature, or replace literature. Language is irreplaceable.

It is written in the Scripture: In the beginning was the word. And in my opinion it will stay to the end, which could however be very soon, when you people down there go on destroying your own planet.

I hope you will enjoy it, and now I mean Oslo and all that.

See you later,

Your friend H.C.A.

Annie M.G. Schmidt leest haar zoontje Flip (links) en een vriendje voor. Op de voorgrond een vloerkleedje met Dikkertje Dap.
Foto Frits Gerritsen, ± 1960.