Peter Pohl - Author

Author

Pohl has published a total number of 35 books: 9 textbooks and 26 works of fiction. He is primarily known for his works of fiction.

His fiction is mostly drama, but also includes two works of poetry, a book with fairy tales and a "picture book without pictures" that defies categorisation. In most of his books, children and teenagers are the main characters. He considers this to be the most important period of a life. Typical themes are loneliness, betrayal, lies, a longing for friendship, death. On his website, he writes that he does so because it is reality for many adults, youths and kids, and it would be a shame to be silent about that .

Of his drama, two books were translated into English: Johnny, My Friend about a mysterious new boy in the neighborhood, and I miss you, I miss you! about the loss of a twin sister. In total, 13 of his books have been translated into 13 languages, mostly in Norwegian, Danish and German, but more recently also in languages such as Estonian and Polish.

Among the books he published in the first four years of his writer career are three of the autobiographical books that form the rainbow series. Those are true and about his own life Those start with Regnbågen har bara åtta färger (The rainbow has only eight colours). In this book, Pohl described his early childhood, starting immediately after he moved to Sweden, until he was eight years old. The story takes place between 1945 and 1948. It is followed by Medan regnbågen bleknar (While the rainbow is fading), covering the period 1949 - 1952. Vilja växa (Want to grow up) described the period 1952 - 1958. The fourth book, Vi kallar honom Anna, he describes one year, particularly one summer, where he, part of the summercamp organisation, observes how a teenage boy is severely bullied. This book was published before Medan regnbågen bleknar and Vilja växa, just shortly after Regnbågen har bara åtta färger, and received a lot of attention and prizes. The final book in the series is Klara papper är ett måste, which starts in 1966. Additionally, the book De Stora Penslarnas lek, which Pohl describes as a starting point for his writing, contains fairy tales, based on the fairy tales from the grandfather in Regnbågen har bara åtta färger.

Other books, such as I miss you, I miss you! and Sekten are based on true stories that came to him directly or indirectly.

Some of his books were originally published as adult literature, but later recategorised as books for youth. Pohl does not consider himself himself an author of primarily youth literature. However, some books were written for children. Examples are Glittras uppdrag, a fairy tale about an angel that protects a six year old boy, and Malins kung Gurra, written for a contest organised by publisher Rabén & Sjögren.