Benny Andersen was a Danish poet, author, songwriter, composer and pianist. Although his work had little circulation in the U.S., he was one of Denmark's most popular poets. Along with nearly two dozen collections of poetry and numerous short stories, he also published children's literature; he was awarded the Ministry of Culture's Children Book Prize in 1971. In 1972, he became a member of the Danish Academy. He passed away in 2018.