1998 Gisla Perlet

When the Hans Christian Andersen Award was presented to me in 1998, I had never before received an award. This happened outside Germany, at the beautiful Nyborg Castle. Of course, it was a great experience for me. The words that honour is like the golden bird, for which „everyone must reach out“, applies to translators as well as to anybody else; perhaps even more to them, as there is not much tangible gold to be found in their work. Receiving the award encourages me to continue working on the translation of his diaries and his autobiography.

In Odense I got the feeling of having colleagues in many countries. They gradually became my friends, with which I could discuss my problems in Danish as our ‘lingua franca’. We are all deeply engaged in Hans Christian Andersen, and, thanks to the hospitality of our hosts, we felt at home in Denmark.

Gisela Perlet