Gerda Antti made her debut in 1961 with the poetry collection "Here and Now", but it was not until 16 years later that she had her breakthrough with the short story collection "No Worse Than Usual" (1977), for which she also received the Svenska Dagbladet Literature Prize.
Seven years of elementary school
Gerda Antti grew up in Övertorneå in a farming family with six children. After seven years of elementary school, she eventually came to Stockholm, where she met the writer Walter Ljungquist. They married and moved in the 1950s to the area around Kisa, where Gerda Antti also began writing.
For a long time she was a widely read and loved author who really knew the countryside and the people in the region of Östergötland, which she also loved, says Eva Bonnier, who was Gerda Antti's publisher for 30 years.
In total, Gerda Antti wrote around 20 books – poetry, novels such as "District Heating" and "Adamsons", but also short stories and a debate book. She was also a columnist for Corren and politically involved with the Center Party, serving as both a municipal and county council politician.
"I have, throughout my writing, tried to give a picture of the time I live in, and of course what I write today is also influenced by the present. After all, the day is the most important thing we have to deal with," she told Corren in connection with her 90th birthday.
Softer tone
In recent years, she wrote short prose-lyric texts, sometimes with controversial opinions.
In "All My Days" from 2022, however, the tone was softer, according to Anna Hallberg in Dagens Nyheter. Gerda Antti wrote about life, old age and death, aware that she would soon die.
"Some things might be perceived as embarrassing, but I don't care," she said in an interview with Corren.
