Per Olov Enquist, also known as P. O. Enquist, (23 September 1934 – 25 April 2020) was a Swedish author. He had worked as a journalist, playwright and novelist.

Biography

Enquist was born and raised in , a village in present-day Skellefteå Municipality,

Västerbotten Västerbotten (), known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in the north of Sweden, bordering Ångermanland, Lapland, North Bothnia, and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is known for the cheese named after the provi ...

. He was the only son of a single mother, who became a widow when he was half a year old. In his youth, he was a promising athlete with a

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

personal best of 1.97 meters. He studied at Uppsala University, receiving a degree in the history of literature. During his time in Uppsala he started writing, his first novel ''Kristallögat'' being published in 1961, and became a newspaper journalist. Enquist won the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1968 for ''

Legionärerna ''The Legionnaires'' ( sv, Legionärerna) is a 1968 documentary novel by Swedish author Per Olov Enquist about the Swedish extradition of Baltic soldiers shortly after the Second World War. It won the Nordic Council Literature Prize The Nordic ...

'', his account of Sweden's deportation of Baltic-country soldiers at the end of the second world war which also became his international breakthrough. He would write several more books based on true events, including ''Kapten Nemos bibliotek'' (1991) about where two newly born boys were accidentally switched, ''Livläkarens besök'' (1999), ''Lewis resa'' (2001) about

Pentecostalist Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

Lewi Pethrus, and ''Boken om Blanche och Marie'' (2004) about Marie Curie and mental patient Marie "Blanche" Wittman. Enquist's first stage play was ''Tribadernas natt'' (1975), a story about Swedish author August Strindberg, his soon-to-be ex-wife Siri von Essen, and von Essen's presumed lover . Awards for his writing have included the Dobloug Prize in 1988, the

Selma Lagerlöf Prize The Selma Lagerlöf Prize is a Swedish literary prize awarded to an author writing in the spirit of Selma Lagerlöf who was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The prize was founded by the Sunne Municipality in 1983 and has been ...

in 1997, and the Italian Flaiano Prize in 2002. Besides books and stage plays, Enquist also wrote screenplays for motion pictures, including ''

Pelle Erövraren ''Pelle the Conqueror'' ( da, Pelle Erobreren, sv, Pelle Erövraren) is a 1987 epic film co-written and directed by Bille August, based upon the 1910 novel of the same name by Danish writer Martin Andersen Nexø. The film tells the story of t ...

'' (1987) and ''Hamsun'' (1996), and at the

27th Guldbagge Awards The 27th Guldbagge Awards ceremony, presented by the Swedish Film Institute, honored the best Swedish films of 1991, and took place on 16 March 1992. '' Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem'' directed by Jan Troell was presented with the award for Bes ...

in 1993, Enquist was nominated for the award for Best Screenplay for the film '' Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem''. He also received the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize as well as the

Nelly Sachs Prize The Nelly Sachs Prize (German: ''Nelly Sachs Preis'') is a literary prize given every two years by the German city of Dortmund. Named after the Jewish poet and Nobel laureate Nelly Sachs, the prize includes a cash award of €15,000. It honours ...

in 2003 for ''

Livläkarens besök ''The Visit of the Royal Physician'' ( sv, Livläkarens besök) is a 1999 novel by the Swedish writer Per Olov Enquist. It is known as ''The Royal Physician's Visit'' in the United States, translated into English by Tiina Nunnally. Against the bac ...

'', based on the true story of Johann Friedrich Struensee, who was the mentally ill Danish King Christian VII's physician, and his political machinations and relationship with Christian's wife Caroline Matilda in the 1770s. ''Livläkarens besök'' also became the first of two books Enquist wrote that were awarded the

August Prize The August Prize ( sv, Augustpriset) is an annual Swedish literary prize awarded each year since 1989 by the Swedish Publishers' Association. The prize is awarded to the best Swedish book of the year, in three categories. Prize In the years 1989- ...

, the other being his 2008 autobiography ''

Ett annat liv ''Ett annat liv'' (lit. A Different Life) is a 2008 novel by Swedish author Per Olov Enquist. It won the August Prize The August Prize ( sv, Augustpriset) is an annual Swedish literary prize awarded each year since 1989 by the Swedish Publishers' ...

''. Enquist was awarded the

Austrian State Prize for European Literature The Austrian State Prize for European Literature (german: Österreichischer Staatspreis für Europäische Literatur), also known in Austria as the European Literary Award (''Europäischer Literaturpreis''), is an Austria Austria, , bar, Ö ...

in 2009 and the

Swedish Academy's Nordic Prize The Nordic Prize (''Swedish'': nordiska pris) is a literary award presented annually by the Swedish Academy. The recipient is someone from the Nordic countries who has done significant work in any of the Academy's areas of operations or interests. ...

in 2010. Enquist died on 25 April 2020 after a prolonged struggle with cancer.

Bibliography

*' (1961) *' (1963) *' (1964). *' (1964). Written under the pseudonym "Peter Husberg" along with Torsten Ekbom and Leif Nylén. *' (1966) *' (1966) *'' Legionärerna: En roman om baltutlämningen'' (1968) *' (1971) *' (1972). *' (1974). *' (1975) *' (1976). *' (1978). *''Mannen på trottoaren'' (1979). *' (1980). Based on the myth of

Phaedra Phaedra may refer to: Mythology * Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus Arts and entertainment * ''Phaedra'' (Alexandre Cabanel), an 1880 painting Film * ''Phaedra'' (film), a 1962 film by ...

. *''Från regnormarnas liv'' (1981) *''En triptyk'' (1981). A collection of his works ''Tribadernas natt'', ''Till Fedra'', and ''Från regnormarnas liv''. *' (1982). *''Strindberg. Ett liv'' (1984). *' (1985). *''Två reportage om idrott'' (1986). *''Protagoras sats'' (1987). *' (1988). *' (1991). *' (1992). *'' Bildmakarna'' (1998) *''

'' (1999). *' (2001). *' (2003) *' (2004). English translation as ''The Book about Blanche and Marie'', 2006 *''

'' ("A different life", autobiography) (2008). *' (2010) *' (2013).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Enquist, Per Olov 1934 births 2020 deaths People from Skellefteå Municipality Writers from Västerbotten Swedish-language writers 20th-century Swedish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Swedish novelists 21st-century Swedish novelists Swedish historical novelists Uppsala University alumni Sommar (radio program) hosts Selma Lagerlöf Prize winners Dobloug Prize winners Nordic Council Literature Prize winners Litteris et Artibus recipients August Prize winners Best Screenplay Guldbagge Award winners Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin Articles containing video clips Male screenwriters Swedish male novelists Swedish male dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Swedish dramatists and playwrights