Nils Artur Lundkvist (3 March 1906 – 11 December 1991) was a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...
,
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...
and
literary critic
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. ...
. He was a member of the
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is bes ...
from 1968.
Artur Lundkvist published around 80 books, including poetry, prose poems, essays, short stories, novels and travel books, and his works have been translated into some 30 languages. He is also noted for having translated many works from Spanish and French into Swedish. Several authors he translated were later awarded the
Nobel Prize in Literature
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, caption =
, awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature
, presenter = Swedish Academy
, holder = Annie Ernaux (2022)
, location = Stockholm, Sweden
, year = 1901
, ...
.
He married the poet
Maria Wine in 1936.
Biography
Artur Lundkvist was born in
Perstorp Municipality,
Skåne County
Skåne County ( sv, Skåne län, link=no ), sometimes referred to as Scania County in English, is the most southern county, or , of Sweden, basically corresponding to the traditional province Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Krono ...
. As a child he lived on a small farm, first in Hagstad and then in nearby Toarp. From an early age his main interest was reading and also liked wanderings in the surrounding nature. At the age of twenty Lundkvist moved to
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...
determined to become a writer, he studied at a
Folk high school
Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule; ...
and became acquainted with other young people with the same interests. His first books of poems, the anthology ''
Fem unga
''Fem unga'' ("Five Young Ones" or "Five Young Men") is a Swedish anthology published in 1929 and the name of the literary group formed by the five young proletarian writers who contributed to it: Erik Asklund, Josef Kjellgren, Artur Lundkvist, ...
'' and introductions of foreign
modernist literature
Literary modernism, or modernist literature, originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is characterized by a self-conscious break with traditional ways of writing, in both poetry and prose fiction writing. Modernism experimented ...
quickly established Lundkvist as a leading figure in
Modernist Swedish literature The period of Modernistic Swedish literature started in the 1910s. Some regard 1910 itself as the beginning, when August Strindberg published several critical newspaper articles, contesting many conservative values. Several other years are also poss ...
in the 1930s. Lundkvist went on to publish more than 80 books in many genres and was also a prominent critic. In 1968 he was elected a member of the
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is bes ...
, and was a member of the Academy's
Nobel committee
A Nobel Committee is a working body responsible for most of the work involved in selecting Nobel Prize laureates. There are five Nobel Committees, one for each Nobel Prize.
Four of these committees (for prizes in physics, chemistry, physio ...
from 1969 to 1986. He died on 11 December 1991.
Writings
Lundkvist published his first book of poems ''Glöd'' (''Glowing Embers'') in 1928 and contributed to the important anthology ''
Fem unga
''Fem unga'' ("Five Young Ones" or "Five Young Men") is a Swedish anthology published in 1929 and the name of the literary group formed by the five young proletarian writers who contributed to it: Erik Asklund, Josef Kjellgren, Artur Lundkvist, ...
'' (''Five young men'') in 1929. He was one of the dominant figures in Swedish
literary modernism
Literary modernism, or modernist literature, originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is characterized by a self-conscious break with traditional ways of writing, in both poetry and prose fiction writing. Modernism experimented ...
, the most vigorous promoter of the modernist breakthrough that took place around 1930, and one of the leading poets of the period. His early works was influenced by Scandinavian and American modernists, most notably
Carl Sandburg
Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...
, and later by
surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...
.
In the late 1940s his works became increasingly influenced by Spanish language writers like
Pablo Neruda
Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...
and
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...
, whose poetry he also translated to Swedish. Although he continued to publish books of poetry, including ''Liv som gräs'' (''Life as grass'', 1954) and ''Ögonblick och vågor'' (''Moments and waves'', 1962) which by many is considered to be among his finest works, prose works dominated his writings from the 1950s and onwards. In several books, starting with ''Malinga'' (1952) and leading up to late works such as ''Skrivet mot kvällen'' (''Written towards the evening'', 1980), his ambition was to defy genre limitations and merge prose poetry, fictional stories, short essays, personal memoirs and impressions from his many travels around the world into a new form of literature.
Artur Lundkvist was a very productive writer, and also published numerous articles, short stories, collections of literary essays, and books about his travels in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
,
the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
and
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. His later work also include several
historical novel
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...
s such as ''Snapphanens liv och död'' (1968, about
snapphanar
A ''snapphane'' was a member of a 17th-century pro-Danish guerrilla organization, auxiliaries or paramilitary troops that fought against the Swedes in the Second Northern and Scanian Wars, primarily in the eastern former Danish provinces that ha ...
), ''Tvivla, korsfarare!'' (1972, about
crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
), ''Krigarens dikt'' (1976, about
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
) and "Slavar för Särkland" (1978, about
vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
).
In 1966 his autobiography ''Självporträtt av en drömmare med öppna ögon'' (''Self portrait of a dreamer with open eyes'') was published, and in 1968 he was elected a member of the
Swedish academy
The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is bes ...
.
In 1977 he was awarded the prestigious
Golden Wreath of the
Struga Poetry Evenings festival in
Struga
Struga ( mk, Струга , sq, Strugë) is a town and popular tourist destination situated in the south-western region of North Macedonia, lying on the shore of Lake Ohrid. The town of Struga is the seat of Struga Municipality.
Name
The n ...
,
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
.
He died in
Solna
Solna Municipality ( sv, Solna kommun or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of the ...
,
Stockholm County
Stockholm County ( sv, Stockholms län, link=no ) is a county or ''län'' (in Swedish) on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockho ...
.
Political activism
Artur Lundkvist was a supporter of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
and
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
. Lundkvist himself, however, never accepted to be labelled as a communist but called himself a "free socialist". During the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
, Lundkvist was an adherent of the so-called "third stance" ( sv, tredje ståndpunkten) in Swedish public debate, which purported to advocate a neutral stance in the conflict between the two superpowers. He served on the board of the pro-communist
Sweden-GDR Association. He was also a member of the
Swedish Peace Committee, the Swedish section of the
World Peace Council
The World Peace Council (WPC) is an international organization with the self-described goals of advocating for universal disarmament, sovereignty and independence and peaceful co-existence, and campaigns against imperialism, weapons of mas ...
, a Soviet front organization.
In 1958 he was awarded the
Lenin Peace Prize from the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
.
Selected works
*''Glöd'' 1928
*''Naket liv'' 1929
*''Jordisk prosa'' 1930
*''Svart stad'' 1930
*''Vit man'' 1932
*''Atlantvind'' 1932
*''Floderna flyter mot havet'' 1934
*''Himmelsfärd'' 1935
*''Nattens broar'' 1936
*''Sirensång'' 1937
*''Eldtema'' 1939
*''Ikarus' flykt'' 1939
*''Korsväg'' 1942
*''Dikter mellan djur och gud'' 1944
*''Skinn över sten'' 1947
*''Fotspår i vattnet'' 1949
*''Indiabrand'' 1950
*''Malinga'' 1952
*''Liv som gräs'' 1954
*''Den förvandlade draken'' 1955
*''Vindingevals'' 1956
*''Berget och svalorna'' 1957
*''Vulkanisk kontinent'' 1957
*''Ur en befolkad ensamhet'' 1958
*''Komedi i Hägerskog'' 1959
*''Utsikter över utländsk prosa'' 1959
*''Det talande trädet'' 1960
*''Agadir'' 1961
*''Berättelser för vilsekomna'' 1961
*''Sida vid sida'' 1962
*''Ögonblick och vågor'' 1962
*''Drömmar i ovädrens tid'' 1963
*''Texter i snön'' 1964
*''Sällskap för natten'' 1965
*''Självporträtt av en drömmare med öppna ögon'' 1966
*''Snapphanens liv och död'' 1968
*''Utflykter med utländska författare'' 1969
*''Himlens vilja'' 1970
*''Antipodien'' 1971
*''Tvivla, korsfarare!'' 1972
*''Lustgårdens demoni'' 1973
*''Fantasins slott och vardagens stenar'' 1974
*''Livsälskare, svartmålare'' 1975
*''Världens härlighet'' 1975
*''Krigarens dikt'' 1976
*''Sett i det strömmande vattnet'' 1978
*''Slavar för Särkland'' 1978
*''Utvandring till paradiset'' 1979
*''Skrivet mot kvällen'' 1980
*''Babylon, gudarnas sköka'' 1981
*''Sinnebilder'' 1982
*''Färdas i drömmen och föreställningen'' 1984
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lundkvist, Artur
1906 births
1991 deaths
People from Perstorp Municipality
Writers from Scania
Swedish-language poets
Modernist poets
Members of the Swedish Academy
Lenin Peace Prize recipients
Struga Poetry Evenings Golden Wreath laureates
Dobloug Prize winners
20th-century poets