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Ole Lund Kirkegaard is arguably the most successful Danish children's book author ever. Between 1967 and 1975, he wrote no fewer than 6 classics:
"Lille Virgil" (Little Virgil), 1967; "Albert", 1968; "Orla Frøsnapper" (Orla Frog-eater), 1969; "Hodja fra Pjort" (Hodja from Pjort), 1970; "Otto er et næsehorn" (Otto is a rhinoceros), 1972 and perhaps his biggest success: "Gummi-Tarzan" (Rubber Tarzan) from 1975, portraying the miserable life of a small, skinny, weak and untalented boy named Ivan Olsen.
All of these six books have since been adapted, either by the film industry or by the theater.
Ole grew up with good and liberal parents, who allowed the playful boy to explore his fantasies. His father Niels, a dentist, and his mother Ellen let him set up a circus in their garden and to cut out totem poles to play cowboys and indians.
Ole went to high school at Aarhus Katedralskole. This is also where he met his wife Anne Lise with whom he had two daughters: Maya og Nana. After graduating, Ole went sailing but quickly discovered that he got sea sick easily. He quit that job after a year and started studying to be teacher. Meanwhile, he married Anne Lise. After he graduated, while Anne Lise finished her studies (also teacher), Ole served as a soldier at Garderhusarerne in Næstved (mounted troops), and he actually attained the rank of Lieutenant. After Anne Lise graduated, they both got jobs at a little school in the small town of Oue, near Hobro.
Ole loved writing children's literature and sometimes read his stories to his pupils. From 1973 onwards, he decided to become a full time author. He also spent time traveling the country giving lectures.
Unfortunately, he also became an alcoholic as time went by, a fact verified by his wife, who divorced him (under peaceful conditions) some three months before his unfortunate and untimely death. Rumours of suicide had circulated but were dismissed by his wife, who could tell the real story as verified by the coroner.
On the evening of March 24, 1979, he spent some time at a local inn after giving a lecture. He got rather drunk and on his way back home, he took sick and passed out in the snow. He died from the ensuing hypothermia.
The works of Ole Lund Kirkegaard has long since become compulsory in any child's bookshelf, and his timeless stories will probably continue to be loved all over Denmark. His premature death was a great loss for Danish literature, but his books live on as a testament to a truly brilliant author of children's books.
