Jen from Quebec :0)
asked
Lene Fogelberg:
Hello! I have been wondering why you didn't write such a *personal* story, your own memoir, in your 'mother tongue' of Swedish + instead chose to write it in English, which must have been more difficult...? Thank you! --Jen from Quebec :0)
Lene Fogelberg
Hi Jen!
Thank you for your question! I have been asked this a lot, and I am happy to answer.
I actually did write Beautiful Affliction in Swedish first, but I didn’t feel like I had managed to fully capture the story the way I wanted it, and it dawned on me that I needed to tell it in English. Most of the story takes place in the US, so it made sense to tell it in English, but it took me a while to reach the point where I dared to write in my second language. At first, I tried to translate my Swedish manuscript line by line, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that I needed to do a re-write in English. I enjoyed working in the English language, which I love, and have continued to write in this beautiful language.
Wishing you a lovely day, and I hope this answered your question,
Love,
Lene
Thank you for your question! I have been asked this a lot, and I am happy to answer.
I actually did write Beautiful Affliction in Swedish first, but I didn’t feel like I had managed to fully capture the story the way I wanted it, and it dawned on me that I needed to tell it in English. Most of the story takes place in the US, so it made sense to tell it in English, but it took me a while to reach the point where I dared to write in my second language. At first, I tried to translate my Swedish manuscript line by line, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that I needed to do a re-write in English. I enjoyed working in the English language, which I love, and have continued to write in this beautiful language.
Wishing you a lovely day, and I hope this answered your question,
Love,
Lene
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Sep 04, 2018 11:34PM · flag