Sophia Jansson on Tove Jansson
I am so excited to say that my guest on the GWA Podcast is Sophia Jansson \u2013\xa0niece of Tove Jansson, the legendary Swedish-speaking Finnish writer, artist, novelist, illustrator, and children\u2019s book author, best known for creating the Moomins. \n\nBorn in Helsinki in 1914, Tove grew up immersed in art from a young age. It was thanks to her artist parents, who raised her and her brothers in a home filled with plaster dust, clay, paintings, and floor-to-ceiling books \u2013 known to be (quote) \u201ca box with endless secret compartments\u2026\u201d It was even thought she slept on the shelf at one point! \n\nBut, growing up in the 1910s and 30s, it was also a time wracked by war. Turning to art, Tove made paintings \u2013 in a style influenced by the post-Impressionists \u2013 and conceived of imaginary worlds, steeped in nature \u2013 from forests to the sea \u2013 perhaps to escape the imploding world around her. \n\nJansson\u2019s books for children and her novels for adults are just as much great stories as they are philosophies on life as she wrote: \u201cbefore the war I used to think the purpose of life was to act as justly as possible; after the war I thought the purpose of life was to be as happy as possible.\u201d \n\nAnd there is no shadow of a doubt that Jansson and the Moomins, the large-snouted trolls, can show us the true meanings of life.\n\nENJOY!\n\n--\n\nTHIS EPISODE IS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY THE LEVETT COLLECTION:\n\nhttps://www.famm.com/en/\nhttps://www.instagram.com/famm_mougins // https://www.merrellpublishers.com/9781858947037\n\nFollow us:\nKaty Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel\nSound editing by Nada Smiljanic\nMusic by Ben Wetherfield