Paul Lennart Hellsing (5 June 1919 – 25 November 2015) was a Swedish writer and translator. For his lasting contribution as a children's writer, Hellsing was a finalist in 2010 for the biennial, international

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

Biography

Born in

Västanfors Västanfors is a district (''stadsdel'') of Fagersta and is located in Fagersta Municipality, Sweden. Notable People From Västanfors * Anitra Steen, Swedish civil servant, politician, and spouse of Sweden's former prime minister Göran Per ...

Västmanland County Västmanland County ( sv, Västmanlands län) is a county or '' län'' in central Sweden. It borders the counties of Södermanland, Örebro, Gävleborg, Dalarna and Uppsala. The county also has a stretch of shoreline towards Mälaren (Sweden's ...

, Sweden, he was the son of the merchant Paul Hellsing and Sigrid Hellsing, née Rohloff, whose mother was from the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. He was a prolific writer of

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

, particularly known for his rhymes and

word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phonet ...

s. He is considered an "outstanding poet" in the field of humour and nonsense writing. In 1987, he received the Grand Prize from

Samfundet De Nio Samfundet De Nio (''The Nine Society'' or ''Society of the Nine'') is a Swedish literary society founded on 14 February 1913 in Stockholm by a testamentary donation from writer Lotten von Kraemer. The society has nine members who are elected for ...

. Hellsing was married to actress

Yvonne Lombard Yvonne Lombard (born 28 May 1929) is a Swedish actress. Born in Stockholm, Lombard studied at the Royal Dramatic Theatre ("Dramaten") there, where she trained between 1948 and 1951 with the likes of Max von Sydow and Ingrid Thulin. She has perfor ...

from 1953 until his death. Hellsing died at his home in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden, of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on the night of 25 November 2015 surrounded by his family, aged 96.

References

External links

* * (including 7 "from old catalog") {{DEFAULTSORT:Hellsing, Lennart 1919 births 2015 deaths Swedish children's writers Swedish poets Swedish translators People from Fagersta Municipality Litteris et Artibus recipients Swedish male poets Swedish male novelists Children's songwriters 20th-century translators People from Västanfors