Josef Kjellgren, (13 November 1907 – 8 April 1948) 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 and playwright.Josef Kjellgren, Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon
(in swedish)

Biography

Kjellgren was born and grew up on the island of Mörkö in the Stockholm archipelago. Later, his family moved to a residence near

Hornstull Hornstull () is an area in western Södermalm, Stockholm. Hornstull is actually the name of where the streets Hornsgatan and Långholmsgatan intersect. Up to the early 19th century it was also a city toll; "tull" in Swedish. Hornstull also has ...

Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is a district and island in central Stockholm. Overview The district covers the large island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''). Although Södermalm usually is considered an island, wat ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. Kjellgren was a

proletarian writer Proletarian literature refers here to the literature created by left-wing writers mainly for the class-conscious proletariat. Though the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' states that because it "is essentially an intended device of revolution", it is ...

and a member of the influential

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

literary group ''

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 Lundkvis ...

'' ('Five Young Ones') who published an anthology of the same name in 1929. Kjellgren's main theme was

proletarian internationalism Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is the perception of all communist revolutions as being part of a single global class struggle rather than separate localized events. It is based on the theory that ...

and

solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...

within the working class. He published modernist proletarian poetry and books about his travels in Europe in the early 1930s, such as ''På snålskjuts genom Europa'' ('Across Europe Without a Penny in My Pocket', 1930). He was a journalist and editor of the magazine ''Kulturfront'' from 1942-1944. Kjellgren is best known for his later novels, including ''Människor kring en bro'' ('People Around a Bridge', 1935), about the building of

Västerbron () is an arch bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden. With a total length exceeding 600 m, 340 m of which stretches over water, it is one of the major bridges in Stockholm, offering one of the most panoramic views of the central part of the city cent ...

in Stockholm, and ''Smaragden'' ('The Emerald', 1939). Kjellgren also wrote a play, ''Okänd svensk soldat'' ('Unknown Swedish Soldier', 1938), which was the basis for the 1948 movie ''Främmande hamn'' ('Foreign Harbour'), directed by

Hampe Faustman Erik "Hampe" Faustman (born Erik Stellan Chatham; 3 July 1919 – 26 August 1961) was a Swedish actor and film director. He appeared in more than 20 films between 1940 and 1961. He also directed 20 films between 1943 and 1955. He was married ...

.Per Holmer ''Kamp för självkänsla och socialism'', in Josef Kjellgren ''Jag är tusenden'', FIBs Lyrikklubb/Tidens förlag 1975. (in swedish) Kjellgren died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in 1948 and was buried at Högalids kolumbarium in

References

20th-century Swedish dramatists and playwrights Swedish male poets Writers from Södermanland 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis 1907 births 1948 deaths 20th-century Swedish poets 20th-century Swedish male writers Tuberculosis deaths in Sweden Swedish male dramatists and playwrights {{Sweden-writer-stub