Klara Elisabeth Johanson (6 October 1875 – 8 October 1948) was a Swedish

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. Th ...

and essayist. She was unusually well educated for a woman in her city. She initially wrote for journals and newspapers before she and her partner spent five years curating the correspondence of Fredrika Bremer. She is known for introducing American writers in parallel to publishing her own books.

Biography

Klara Johanson was born in 1875 in

Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Socia ...

to Alexander Johanson, a milliner and furrier, and Anna Christina Johanson. She was the first woman from Halmstad to sit the upper secondary school final examinations, passing in 1894. She went on to study a Master of Arts in humanities at Uppsala University and graduated in 1897. She then moved to Stockholm and became a sub-editor for ''Dagny'', the journal of the women's rights organisation the Fredrika Bremer Association. In 1901 she left ''Dagny'' to write for ''

Stockholms Dagblad ''Stockholms Dagblad'' was a conservative morning newspaper published in Stockholm between 1824 and 1931. History and profile ''Stockholms Dagblad'' was established on 2 January 1824 as a newspaper for the Swedish capital. Under the editorship o ...

'', contributing literary criticism under her own name and humorous stories under the name Huck Leber. She wrote for the newspaper until 1912; during this period, ''

The History of Nordic Women's Literature ''The History of Nordic Women's Literature'' (Danish: ''Nordisk kvindelitteraturhistorie'', Swedish: ''Nordisk kvinnolitteraturhistoria'') is a print and online encyclopedia and biographical dictionary about female Nordic authors. The original ...

'' notes that Johanson "was described as Sweden's most eloquent critic with the highest aesthetic sensitivity". In 1907 Johanson edited ''Den undre världen'', a diary written by a prostitute which proved to be controversial. She and her romantic partner

Ellen Kleman Ellen Emma Augusta Kleman (1867–1943) was a Swedish writer, newspaper editor and women's rights activist. From 1907, she was editor of ''Dagny'', a journal in support of the women's movement, replaced in 1914 by '' Hertha'', which she also edite ...

published the letters of Fredrika Bremer in four volumes, titled ''Fredrika Bremers brev'', between 1915 and 1920. In 1924, Johanson and Kleman met another couple, sculptor

Sigrid Fridman Sigrid Carolina Sofia Fridman (23 November 1879 – 8 January 1963) was a Swedish sculptor most known for her works of women and the ''Centaur'' sculpture which is located in the park known as Observatorielunden in Stockholm. Many of her sculptur ...

and her partner, Ragnhild Barkman. The four women became friends, often spending their summers together. Johanson would later write a book regarding her friend, Fridman. Johanson is also credited with promoting American literature to Swedish readers; notes from Johanson's diary published in 1916 contain the first known mention of Emily Dickinson in Swedish print, although this has also been attributed to Margit Abenius, who wrote about Dickinson in 1934. She translated the works of several other writers, including Henri-Frédéric Amiel's ''Fragments d'un journal intime'' and Rosa Mayreder's ''Geschlecht und Kultur''. Johanson published books of essays, mainly pertaining to literature: ''En recensents baktankar'' (1928), ''Det speglade livet'' (1926), ''Det rika stärbhuset'' (1946) and ''Sigrid Fridman – och andra konstnärer'' (1948). After her death in 1948, published three collections of Johanson's writing: ''K. J. själv'' (1952, childhood memories), ''Brev'' (1953, letters) and ''Kritik'' (1957, criticism).

Biography

References

Further reading