Literary Birthday – 10 September – Anne Holm
Anne Holm was born on 10 September 1922 and died on 7 December 1988.
Anne Holm Quotes
- And it was most important to do what one knew was right, for otherwise the day might come when one could no longer tell the difference between right and wrong. (I Am David)
- Johannes had once said that violence and cruelty were just a stupid person’s way of making himself felt, because it was easer to use your hands to strike a blow than to use your brain to find a logical and just solution to the problem. (I Am David)
- All suffering has an end, David, if only you wait long enough. Sorrow has its life like people. Sorrow is born and lives and dies. And when it’s dead and gone, someone’s left behind to remember it. Exactly like people. (I Am David)
- I wrote I Am David because it seemed to me that children, who can love a book more passionately than any grown person, got such a lot of harmless entertainment and not enough real, valuable literature.
Anne Holm was a Danish author best known for her children’s books. She also wrote under the pseudonym Adrien de Chandelle. Holm showed an early talent for writing. She began her career as a journalist before turning to fiction. Her best-known book is I Am David, also published as North to Freedom. It tells the story of a 12-year-old boy who escapes from a concentration camp. He then travels across Europe in search of freedom. I Am David won the Gyldendal Prize and became an international success. It was translated into more than 20 languages. Holm also wrote Peter, about a teenage boy who travels through time to Ancient Greece and medieval England. Holm helped show that children’s literature could tackle serious and difficult subjects. Her work encouraged young readers to think about freedom, courage, and human dignity.
Source for photograph: The Heritage Portal
by Amanda Patterson
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