Per Erik Wästberg (born 20 November 1933) is a Swedish writer and a member of the Swedish Academy since 1997. Wästberg was born in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, son of Erik Wästberg and his wife Greta née Hirsch, and holds a degree in

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

from

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () 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 operation. Initially fou ...

. He was editor-in-chief of Sweden's largest daily newspaper, ''

Dagens Nyheter (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major nationa ...

'' 1976–1982, and has been a contributor since 1953. He is an older brother of Olle Wästberg. Wästberg was a member of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

for many years and was a president of International PEN. He has been a member of the Nobel Prize in Literature committee since 1999, chair between 2005 and 2019.

Literary work

Per Wästberg has published numerous books including

travel literature The genre of travel literature or travelogue encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. History Early examples of travel literature include the '' Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (generally considered a ...

with a particular interest in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, novels, poetry collections and biographical books. He is also a prominent chronicler of his native

. Wästberg wrote a biographical novel about Anders Sparrman, a Swedish natural scientist, who, according to Wästberg, was the first

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

to study the two African rhinoceros species. Wästberg describes Sparrman as having made significant scientific discoveries and cartography, without achieving fame.

Political works

Wästberg has campaigned extensively for

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

. He was President of the PEN International from 1979 until 1986 and founder of the Swedish section of

(1963). In connection with this, he was involved in the anti- colonial movement. He was especially active in the struggle against

Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, where he became a close friend of Nadine Gordimer. He was expelled by the government in

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

in 1959, and after publication of his anti-Apartheid book ''På svarta listan'' (''On the Black List'') in 1960, he was banned from entering both Rhodesia and

. He returned to South Africa only in 1990, after the release from jail of Nelson Mandela. In August 2022 Wästberg resigned from Amnesty International following controversy about one of Amnesty's reports in relation to the 2022 Russian invasion, which in addition to blaming Russia for the invasion also stated that Ukrainian government had a responsibility not to place troops and weapons in civilian locations, to avoid putting them into harm in Amnesty's interpretation of

international humanitarian law International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict or the laws of war, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (''wikt:jus in bello, jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit ...

. "I have been a member for over 60 years. It is with a heavy heart that, due to Amnesty's statements regarding the war in Ukraine, I am ending a long and fruitful engagement," he said.

List of published works

Novels

* ''Pojke med såpbubblor'' (1949) * ''Ett gammalt skuggspel ''(1952) *''Halva kungariket ''(1955) * ''Arvtagaren ''(1958) * ''Vattenslottet ''(1968) * ''Luftburen ''(1969) * ''Jordmånen ''(1972) * ''Eldens skugga'' (1986) * ''Bergets källa'' (1987) * ''Ljusets hjärta'' (1991) * ''Vindens låga'' (1993) * ''Anders Sparrmans resa: en biografisk roman'' (2008)

Poetry

* ''Tio atmosfärer'' (1963) * ''Enkel resa'' (1964) * ''En avlägsen likhet'' (1983) * ''Frusna tillgångar'' (1990) *'' Förtöjningar ''(1995) * ''Tre rader'' (1998) * ''Raderingar'' (1999) * ''Fortifikationer'' (2001) * ''Tillbaka i tid ''(2004)

On Africa and the Third World

* ''Förbjudet område ''(1960) * ''På svarta listan'' (1960) * ''Afrika berättar'' (1961) * ''Afrika-ett uppdrag ''(1976) * ''I Sydafrika – resan till friheten'' (1995) * ''Modern afrikansk litteratur '' (1969) * ''Afrikansk poesi'' (1971) * ''Resor, intervjuver, porträtt, politiska analyser från en långvarig vistelse i Sydafrika ''(1994)

Biographies and essays

*'' Ernst och Mimmi, biografi genom brev ''(1964) *'' Alice och Hjördis Två systrar'' (1994) *'' En dag på världsmarknaden'' (1967) *'' Berättarens ögonblick ''(1977) *'' Obestämda artiklar'' (1981) *'' Bestämda artiklar ''(1982) * ''Frukost med Gerard ''(1992) * ''Lovtal ''(1996) * ''Ung mans dagbok'' (1996) * ''Ung författares dagbok ''(1997) * ''Duvdrottningen ''(1998) * '' Edith Whartons hemliga trädgård ''(2000) * ''Övergångsställen ''(2002) * ''Ute i livet : en memoar (1980–1994) ''(2012) * ''Gustaf Adolf Lysholm : diktare, drömmare, servitör – en biografi'' (2013) * ''Per Wästbergs Stockholm'' (2013) * ''Lovord'' (2014) * ''Erik och Margot : en kärlekshistoria'' (2014) * ''Mellanblad'' (2015)

In English

*'' The case against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

–

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

'' (with Anders Ehnmark, 1965) *'' Assignments in Africa'' (1986)

References

External links

Curriculum Vitae from the Nobel Prize Committee
first published in Prospect magazine
PEN International
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wastberg, Per 1933 births Living people Swedish male poets Members of the Swedish Academy Uppsala University alumni Litteris et Artibus recipients Recipients of the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo August Prize winners 20th-century Swedish novelists 20th-century Swedish poets 21st-century Swedish poets Swedish male novelists 20th-century Swedish male writers 21st-century Swedish male writers Dagens Nyheter editors Novelists from Stockholm Poets from Stockholm