Who Was A.A. Milne? - a playwright, poet, and an author – best known for his books about the teddy-bear Winnie-the-Pooh.
Alan Alexander Milne (1882-1956)
was born in London, England. Both his parents were teachers and education was
important to them, but the father also encouraged his sons to spend free time
outdoors in nature. And that’s what Alan and his two brothers did.
Their school published a magazine,
and Alan began writing articles for it when he was just nine years old. He
wrote about his adventures in nature.
His education continued at
Westminster School upon earning a math scholarship. But he quickly realized
that writing was at his heart. When he found a copy of the Granta magazine
published by students at Cambridge University, his new goal was to become an
editor of Granta. But he needed to get a scholarship to Cambridge as his
parents couldn’t afford the school.
While at Cambridge, he continued to
submit poems and stories to the magazine. They became popular with readers.
In 1902, he received an offer to
take over as an editor of the Granta. He leaped at the chance. He set a new
goal of making the Granta even more known and respected. He was on his way as
more and more people began to read the Granta.
The founder of the Granta noticed
Alan’s work and thought he was a talented writer. Alan wasn’t sure if he could
make a living as a writer but he decided to give it a chance. With his father
help, he received some money and knew this was his only chance to make it.
After graduating from Cambridge, he
moved to London. Some of his work got published, but most got rejected. He was
unsure and full of doubt if he’d make it as a writer, but he wasn’t ready to
give up.
In May 1904, his poem got accepted
at Punch magazine that featured famous writers. But this wasn’t enough to make
a living and he was running out of money. He changed his focus to writing a
novel.
In 1905, he published Lovers in
London. He wanted to quit writing for Punch magazine but instead was offered a
position of assistant editor. So he accepted it, and soon he was meeting many
famous people. At one party, he met the love of his life, and they got married.
He became a successful writer and
now was looking for a new challenge. He thought of maybe writing a play but WWI
came. He volunteered as a soldier. He still managed to write plays which were
produced in London and US. He was becoming well-known.
When his son was born, he set a new
goal of becoming a good father. He wasn’t interested in writing children’s
stories but as he observed his son, a new idea came to him. He wrote poems for
children. They got published at the end of 1924, and became a best seller in
England and the US.
Despite this success, he didn’t
want to write children’s stories. However, he agreed to write just one for the
Christmas edition of the newspaper. Thus, he wrote about Christopher Robin and
his teddy bear, which he named Winnie-the-Pooh. It was a huge hit.
This propelled him further to write
a book of stories for children based on his son’s other stuffed animals. The
book, Winnie-the-Pooh, was a massive success. And readers wanted more of it. So
he wrote The House at Pooh Corner with addition of a new character – tiger. It
was an instant hit.
Meanwhile, his oldest brother died
of tuberculosis. After that, Alan wanted to go back to ‘serious’ writing. He
focused on plays and novels. But people were not interested in his ‘serious’
writing. They wanted to talk about Winnie-the-Pooh which he didn’t like. His
son didn’t like all the attention either. This put a rift between father and
son.
During WWII, Alan’s children’s
books brought comfort to many people but his grown-up son didn’t see it.
Instead, he put a distance between him and his father.
Alan was always set on being a ‘serious’
writer. He didn’t see writing for children as something respectable, but at the
end what he created for children brought him the biggest fame.
This biography exemplifies a man who discovered his passion for writing early in his childhood, and continued to refine his talent throughout his life. It was also shaped by what readers wanted to read. The sad part of the story was that he wanted to be a good father, and by observing his son, he came up with the idea of creating the famous story about a teddy-bear. His son loved the attention at first, but later disliked it, and turned the whole blame at the father. It’s a lesson to be learned between the father and the son.
Source: Penguin
Workshop, 2021
TRENDING INSPIRATION: “You will be
better advised to watch what we do instead of what we say.” – A.A. Milne
Traits:
·
His parents were
educators and from young age it was instilled in him that education was
important, but the father also made sure his children had a good connection to
nature, playing outdoors as well.
·
He began writing magazine
articles since he was nine and continued throughout his school years.
·
He wasn’t sure if he
could make a living as a writer after college but he decided to give it a
chance. Some of his work got published, but most got rejected.
·
When things were not
looking bright for him and he was running out of money and time, and was not
yet ready to quit, he decided to change his focus. He went from writing poetry
and short stories to writing a novel. – He was still doing what he loved but
the change in focus shifted things for him.
·
When he wanted to quit
a position at magazine, he was offered a position as assistant editor. – That as
well shifted things for him. He started meeting influential people.
·
When he became a
successful writer, he looked for a new challenge such as writing a play – this is
typical for successful people, looking for new challenges.
·
When his son was born, he
set a new goal of becoming a good father.
·
He wasn’t interested in
writing children’s stories but as he observed his son, a new idea came to him.
He wrote poems for children which became bestseller. – observation is the best
indicator and leader for our intuition.
·
He never wanted to
write stories for children but life continued to propel him in that direction.
·
When he tried to return
to ‘serious’ writing, people didn’t want that, especially during war time.
Whenever he tried to go against the current, it wasn’t working for him. – Sometimes
what we want doesn’t resonate with others, which doesn’t mean we have to change
for others. We just need to find a different approach.
“Don’t underestimate the value of doing
nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and
not bothering.” – A.A. Milne
FURTHER INSPIRATION AND RECOMMENDATION: is expansion on A.A. Milne’s above quote “Don’t
underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along…” It highlights
the importance of mindfulness and relaxation, slowing down and observing. We’ve
been programed to act certain ways which don’t necessarily serve our highest
best.
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