Eleanor Farjeon: biography, poems for children

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Eleanor Farjon is an English storyteller and children's poetess who at one time became known to Russian readers thanks to Nina Demurova and Olga Varshaver. They translated two of her fairy tales: "I want the moon" and "The Seventh Princess". Thus, Soviet editions of Elinor's works appeared. Despite the fact that this true Englishwoman has been recognized as a children's writer, her work often becomes very interesting for adults to read.

Eleanor Farjeon, whose fairy tales not only fell in love with her compatriots, but also managed to find their devoted readers all over the world, also wrote children's poems. In many ways, the secret of her success was that she filled all her works with a special author's philosophy.

Eleanor Farjeon: biography and family

This woman was English by nationality. She was born in February 1881. Most likely, she was destined to become a great writer, because in her family the cult of the book existed from the very beginning.start.

All her closest relatives were creative people. Father - Benjamin Farjeon, was a popular English novelist. Margaret Farjohn, the daughter of the famous American actor Joseph Jefferson, was the mother of the girl.

Good taste and love for books and music were instilled by parents in their children from childhood. Music was constantly played in the house, readings and literary evenings were held. In addition to Elinor Farjeon, three more sons grew up in the family. At home, the daughter was called Nelly, and everyone loved her very much, because she was one girl among the boys.

Education Received

Eleanor Farjeon as a child was a weak child and often sick. Since her father believed that each person should engage in their own self-development and education, it was decided that the girl would study at home.

The creative atmosphere that surrounded little Elinor everywhere definitely contributed to the fact that she started writing her first works very early.

The beginning of creativity

Eleanor Farjon's first works were poems and fairy tales. The girl also loved to retell ancient Greek myths and various biblical stories. Elinor always typed all her works on a typewriter, since she knew how to do this since childhood, and also made proofreading of her works herself.

Literature and writing always brought her sincere pleasure, but soon her talent also became an opportunity to getmaterial means of life, which were needed after the death of his father. Benjamin Farjeon died when his daughter was only 22 years old, and at that moment Eleanor realized that her work could not only lie at home and delight relatives and friends, but also be published in various publications.

The first time children's poems written by a girl were published in 1912 in the famous English magazine Punch. In 1916, her first book was published under the title "Children's Songs of Old London". These were poems for children, which quickly found their fans.

World War I years

When the war began, the writer was forced to leave London. Farjon moved to a simple little village and lived there like an ordinary peasant woman. She was a sincere person and managed to win over all the neighborhood children very quickly, with many of whom Eleanor really became friends.

These years were quite difficult, and the writer had a hard time: she stoked the stove herself, collected and brought firewood, and gardened. But against all odds, Eleanor Farjohn did not stop writing. After the end of the war, she returned to London and began to publish her books one after another.

Fairy tales and poems for children

Many critics believe that Elinor's poems are the foundation of 20th-century children's poetry in England. But while admiring her innate talent for excellent rhyming, one should not forget that Farjon did a pretty good job with prose as well. She is quitedeservedly recognized as one of the best storytellers of the last century.

Her works are really very unusual: on the one hand, they are childishly kind, warm and homely, but on the other hand, they sometimes defy the laws of logic and can cause a feeling of slight fear even in adult readers. Her works can hardly be called banal and typical, because in them the happy ending familiar to most children's fairy tales may not come at all, and the positive hero in the process of plot development may turn out to be a notorious scoundrel. The works written by Farjon do not fit into any pattern, which makes their reading even more interesting and entertaining, since even an adult reader cannot guess how a seemingly simple children's fairy tale will end.

Bibliography

Eleanor Farjeon, whose poems and fairy tales have been printed and published a huge number of times, has written more than 60 books throughout her life. Among them, there are several that are especially popular:

• "Nameless flower".
• "I want the moon."
• "Parrots".
• "Young Kate".
• "I rock my baby"
• "The Seventh Princess".
• "Martin Pippin in the apple orchard".
• "One day."
• "Miracles. Herodotus.”
• "Ariadne and the Bull".
• Crystal Slipper.
• "Nuts and May".
• "Kings and Queens".
• "The Soul of Kol Nikon".

Global recognition and awards for the writer

Farjon received her first official award in1955. Eleanor was awarded the Carnegie Medal for her children's writings. Literally a year later, in 1956, the International Council of UNESCO, which de alt with issues of youth and children's literature, decided to make the writer the first laureate of the Literary Prize. G. K. Andersen.

She got it for a collection of her delightful fairy tales called "The Little Library". It is very difficult to overestimate the value of the award received, because among writers it is equated with the Nobel Prize. At the same time, Farjon remained a very simple and modest woman until the end of her days.

Over time, rumors about Elinor's writing talent reached the royal family. Queen Elizabeth II decided to mark the writer with a special privilege - she was granted a title of nobility. But in the life of Elinor herself, this did not fundamentally change anything.

Until the end of her days, she was very fond of animals, especially cats, and in her life she managed to raise more than 120 kittens. Despite the incredible popularity and recognition around the world, the author of fairy tales, loved by thousands of children, lived very modestly. She loved to do housework, cooked deliciously and grew flowers.

This sweet and talented woman passed away in 1965. She died in England at the age of 84.