Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-2023
Abstract
This article addresses Astrid Lindgren’s Kati in America, which was written in 1950 and translated into English in 1964. The novel reflects Lindgren’s impressions of the United States, where she traveled in 1948 on assignment for the publishing house Åhland and Åkerlund. By chance, the author of this article discovered that there is a fifteenth chapter of the book in the Russian, Polish, French, Spanish, and German translations, but which is missing in the English. This missing chapter describes the racism Lindgren’s protagonist witnesses during her visit to New Orleans. Astrid Lindgren’s depiction of racial injustice in the South is especially relevant in the current era, when the subject of race is so prominent in the national conversation. In light of this fact, it is more important than ever that a new, complete English translation of Kati in America be published, one that reflects the racial injustice to which Astrid Lindgren sought to call her readers’ attention in Chapter 15.
Recommended Citation
Holden, Irina I., "Racial Injustice in Astrid Lindgren’s Kati in America" (2023). University Libraries Faculty Scholarship. 188.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/ulib_fac_scholar/188
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Comments
The article has been translated into Swedish, in a abridged version, and published in the newsletter of Astrid Lindgren Society (Astrid Lindgren Sällskapet Medlemsblad) under the title "Kati möter rasismen" in February 2023, number 79.