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 Skellefteå Municipality () is a municipality in Västerbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Skellefteå. History Most of the amalgamations leading to the present municipality took place in 1967 when the then "City of Skelle ...

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 p ...

. 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 personal best of 1.97 meters. He studied at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

, receiving a degree in the

history of literature The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment, enlightenment, or instruction to the reader/listener/observer, as well as the development of the literary techniques ...

. 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 The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth ...

in 1968 for '' Legionärerna'', 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

Lewi Pethrus Lewi Pethrus (born ''Pethrus Lewi Johansson'') (11 March 1884 – 4 September 1974) was a Swedish Pentecostal minister who played a decisive role in the formation and development of the Pentecostal movement in his country. In 1964, he founded ...

, and ''Boken om Blanche och Marie'' (2004) about

Marie Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...

and mental patient Marie "Blanche" Wittman. Enquist's first stage play was ''Tribadernas natt'' (1975), a story about Swedish author

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

, his soon-to-be ex-wife

Siri von Essen Sigrid "Siri" Sofia Matilda Elisabet von Essen (17 August 1850 – 21 April 1912) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish noblewoman and actress. Her acting career spanned about 15 years, during which time she appeared in a number of plays that the Sw ...

, and von Essen's presumed lover . Awards for his writing have included the

Dobloug Prize The Dobloug Prize ( sv, Doblougska priset, no, Doblougprisen) is a literature prize awarded for Swedish and Norwegian fiction. The prize is named after Norwegian businessman and philanthropist Birger Dobloug (1881–1944) pursuant to his bequest. T ...

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 The Flaiano Prizes ( it, Premi Flaiano) are a set of Italian international awards recognizing achievements in the fields of creative writing, cinema, theater and radio-television. Established to honour the Italian author and screenwriter Ennio Fla ...

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 The ''Independent'' Foreign Fiction Prize (1990–2015) was a British literary award. It was inaugurated by British newspaper ''The Independent'' to honour contemporary fiction in translation in the United Kingdom. The award was first launched i ...

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 honour ...

in 2003 for '' Livläkarens besök'', based on the true story of

Johann Friedrich Struensee Lensgreve Johann Friedrich Struensee (5 August 1737 – 28 April 1772) was a German-Danish physician, philosopher and statesman. He became royal physician to the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark and a minister in the Danish governmen ...

, who was the mentally ill Danish King

Christian VII Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was a monarch of the House of Oldenburg who was King of Denmark–Norway and Duke of Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. For his motto ...

'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 other being his 2008 autobiography '' Ett annat liv''. 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 in 2010. Enquist died on 25 April 2020 after a prolonged struggle with cancer.

Bibliography

*' (1961) *' (1963) *' (1964). *' (1964). Written under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

"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 ''The Image Makers'' ( sv, Bildmakarna) is a 2000 Swedish television play directed by Ingmar Bergman and written by Per Olov Enquist. The drama is set in the year 1920 at Filmstaden where the film director Victor Sjöström is shooting the film ' ...

'' (1998) *'' Livläkarens besök'' (1999). *' (2001). *' (2003) *' (2004). English translation as ''The Book about Blanche and Marie'', 2006 *'' Ett annat liv'' ("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