Benny Andersen

Benny Andersen (7 November 1929 – 16 August 2018) was a Danish poet, author, songwriter, composer and pianist. He is often remembered for his collaboration with the singer Povl Dissing; together they released an album with Andersen's poems from the collection Svantes viser. This album and Andersen's book "Svantes viser" (Svante's Songs) from 1972 were included by the Danish Ministry of Culture in the Danish Culture Canon in 2006, in the category "Popular music". Andersen's "Samlede digte" (Collected poems) have sold more than 100,000 copies in Denmark.

In Denmark, Benny Andersen was also a well-known author of children's literature and in 1971, he was awarded the Ministry of Culture's children book prize ("Kulturministeriets Børnebogspris"). In the 1980s, his books about the fantastical creature Snøvsen, became widely popular and later inspired two films in the early 90s.

Andersen became a member of the Danish Academy (Det Danske Akademi) in 1972.

His wife, the jurist Elisabeth Ehmer, reported that Benny Andersen died in the family home in Sorgenfri, north of Copenhagen, on 16 August 2018.