Tiina Nunnally interviewed on KUOW

Submitted by Arts & Sciences Web Team on

2005 marks the 200 year anniversary of the birth of Hans Christian Andersen. At a time when children’s stories were formal, moral and didactic, Hans Christian Andersen revolutionized the genre, giving an anarchic twist to traditional folklore and creating a remarkably large body of original stories that sprang directly from his imagination. From the exuberant early stories such as The Emperor’s New Clothes, though poignant masterpieces such as The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling, to the darker, more subversive later tales written for adults, the stories are endlessly experimental, both humorous and irreverent, sorrowful and strange. Tina Nunnally’s recent translations capture the rawness and immediacy of Andersen’s style, for the first time enabling English readers to be as startled and amazed as his original readers were. Megan Sukys speaks with Tina Nunnally about translating the Andersen tales.

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