Karen Blixen - Isak Dinesen home

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Question 12: What about Karen Blixen's names "Tanne," "Tania," "Osecola," and "Isak Dinesen?"

Q. Why is Karen Blixen sometimes referred to as "Tanne?"

A. Karen Blixen was born Karen Christentze Dinesen. She was nicknamed Tanne, probably because she misprounced her own name when she was small. Later Denys Finch Hatton called her "Tania" after "Titania" the fairy queen in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream.

Isak Dinesen's first stories were published under the pen-name "Osceola." This name is thought to have been taken from her father's experiences living with the Indians in the United States.

She adopted the pseudonym "Isak Dinesen" because she thought she would have better success selling her work under a man's name.