Anna Maria Lenngren

Anna Maria Lenngren, née Malmstedt (18 June 1754 – 8 March 1817) was one of the most famous poets in Swedish history. Her father and brother were also poets. One of her best known poems is Några ord till min kära dotter, ifall jag hade någon ("Advice to my dear daughter, if I had one"). She also wrote on Sweden's class system in the satirical poems against snobbery Hans nåds morgonsömn ("His Grace's morning snooze") and Grevinnans besök ("The Countess's visit").

Anna Maria Lenngren was born in Uppsala as the daughter of the poet Magnus Brynolf Malmstedt (1724–1798), a professor in Latin at Uppsala University, and Märta Johanna Florin (d. 1788). Her father was a member of the Moravian Church and was known for his social work; from 1772, he hosted a school for poor children in his home. Both her parents published hymns, and her brother Johan Magnus (1749–80) wrote secular poems. Anna Maria Lenngren became set against religion and in favor of the realism of the Age of Enlightenment through dislike of her father's passionate religious feelings; but her humanism and passion for social justice have also been attributed to her father's influence. In her social views, she felt sympathy for the working classes, opposed the privileges of the nobility and acted as a spokesperson for the "third estate", idealizing a simple and humble life style. She was one of only three women members of the Utile Dulci, the others being Anna Charlotta von Stapelmohr and Anna Brita Wendelius. Her successful early career during the 1770s was influenced by her feminist ideas, foremost her defense of women's right to participate and engage in intellectual work. She herself officially discontinued her career after her marriage by only publishing her works under anonymous pseudonyms and refusing to admit to them. Her poem Dröm, which was given as a response to the admiration from the Academy in 1797, and in which she describe herself as unworthy, has also been interpreted as ironic in this regard. Above all, she fought for the intellectual freedom of women; that also women should be allowed to have opinions, and criticized male double standards. Her best known poems on the class system are Hans nåds morgonsömn ("Morning prayer of His Grace") and Grevinnans besök ("Visit from the Countess"), in which she satirizes snobbery, and Pojkarne ("Boys"), in which she laments the fact that children of all classes can play with each other during their childhood, but that this solidarity and friendship is destroyed when they became adults, along with the popular Det blev ingen julgröt men ändå en glad julafton ("There was no oatmeal but still a happy Christmas"), in which she describes the effects of poverty.

Anna Maria Lenngren is one of the most famous poets in the history of Sweden. Her production has made her one of the few 18th century Swedish poets who are still commonly read, and she has been published a number of times after her death during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. In accordance with her instructions, her collected poems were published after her death by her widower under the name Skaldeförsök ("Attempts at Poetry"). After its publication, the Royal Swedish Academy had a memorial medal made with the inscription: "The less she sought fame, the more she gained it". Her correspondence with her personal friend Gustaf af Leopold from 1795 to 1798 has been published.

Anna Maria Lenngren is portrayed in the novel Pottungen ("Chamber pot child") by Anna Laestadius Larsson from 2014, where she, alongside Ulrika Pasch, Ulrika Widström, Jeanna von Lantingshausen, Marianne Ehrenström and Sophie von Fersen, becomes a member in a Blue Stockings Society organized by the Queen of Sweden and Norway, Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein Gottorp.